Snell Type A

For $250 grab them! And repair/replace the woofers. The Snell Type A is a true classic design and one of the best sounding speakers ever!

The Snell Type A is a superior speaker than any of those ones made in Utah! Sorry, fanboys!

Problem with the Snell A's is the foam woofer surrounds deteriorate over time. They will still work but will have little to no bass! Turn the bottom cab over and remove the base cover. You can then see and probe the foam surround to check its condition. Do this on both speakers. Chances are that both surrounds will need replacement. This can be done for a reasonable cost. $250 is certainly a bargain price for the A's - which originally cost $1390 in 1977 - and $4900 in 1985 for the AIII's.

I repaired a friend's AI's by replacing the original 10" woofers with a pair of 10" AR woofers (from a pair of AR 2A's). Rubber surrounds that will not deteriorate, unlike foam! My repair was successful. His AI's sounded great!

I thought I had the lowest price paid for the Snell A's. Paid $400 + shipping $400 (four boxes from CT to FL) USPS. From the original owner (deceased) - who bought them from Audiocom (Old Greenwich, CT), where I used to work back in the late Seventies!

If your Denon receiver can handle 4 ohms, then yes! Though the A's do benefit from more power. The sole dealer in CT, Audiocom, used a GAS Ampzilla to demo them. But they will sound fine with just 50 watts!

@billgjr : I already had a nice pair of 10" woofers with rubber surrounds that I took from a trashed pair of AR 2's. They were a perfect drop-in fit for my friend's Type A's. Both the Snell and AR woofers had the compliance for a sealed box. So I figured why not try them out? The swap worked and sounded great! My friend was very happy!

Some of the later versions of the Type A's used 12" woofers. You will have to check. I haven't examined my pair yet (not in use at present). But I do have a pair of KLH Six's with 12" woofers that might fit! I recommend you get replacement woofers with rubber surrounds or have the originals repaired with rubber - NOT foam!

Just as I thought! Age ruins foam! Do what I did: get a pair of 10" woofers with rubber surrounds. Mine came from a trashed pair of AR 2's. They fit perfectly in my friend's Type A's. He was very happy with the result!