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Was the Snell Secret a Wide Baffle?

I often regret not buying old Snell A/III when I had the money and the space.

One of my all time favorite speakers. By now I'd have certainly had to throw it away. I'd not have the space, and those woofers with extra mass would long ago have pulled out of their frames.

One thing you don't realize unless you go looking for the pics, or owned one, was that the tweeter and midrange of these  speakers were, in my mind, very wide baffle designs. Yes, curved, but very wide.

Another Speaker I like, which I believe is based on a Snell design, is the Audio note AN/J, also has a relatively wide baffle, as do the Devore Orangutan. Of course, among my all time favorite speakers is the Sonus Faber Stradivari, a speaker I know can sound excellent even in acoustically challenged rooms.

What do you all think, have you heard the wide baffle magic?
erik_squires
ishkabibil
422 posts
 
Boston A200's.

Fantastic Imaging....

I have found sources of music ie...the CD player...The Btooth device....the table to have an influence on imaging.

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,320 posts
 
And Devore’s inspiration for the "O" series came directly from the Audio Note N...


I would conjecture that the same feature is a good part of the reason for the recent success of the Wharfedale Lintons...
prof
3,480 posts
 

twoleftears,
From what I've seen John D say on the subject, it sounded like the Snell speakers were the bigger inspiration for his going the wide baffle route.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,938 posts
 
My JBL 4319 speakers are of the old school, wide baffle design and they image better than my old, narrow baffle monitors that were purported to be imaging champs.

With the JBLs, the images can be as wide and deep as the recording dictates with very stable imaging, with a rich and full toned presentation.

I have nothing to complain about and think that all the fuss about narrow baffles was just a way to see if things could be improved and it caught on and became de rigueur, only to come full circle, and, hopefully, back to the basics that work.

All the best,
Nonoise
jond's avatar
jond
5,911 posts
 
All of the Audio Note speakers E, J, and K are descended from Snell, Peter Q bought the designs. I have a pair of J's myself and have heard E's and J's multiple times and they are all great speakers. Not just the wide baffles but the high sensitivity, plywood cabinets, and closely matched drivers all contribute to the great sound.
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