Build a new system around pair of Snell Alll's?

Frogman, any suggestions of modern tube amps to consider? Is my impression incorrect that to get into at least 300wpc for tubes is some really serious dough?
Thanks

Tccaux, 300w of quality tube amplification would be expensive. But, who says you would need 300w's? Read these comments by Peter Qvortrup, CEO of AudioNote UK, who now manufacture variants of the classic Snell's:

http://db.AudioAsylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=speakers&n=181344&highlight=Snell+type+AIII&r=&search_url=%2Fcgi%2Fsearch.mpl%3Fforum%3Dspeakers%26searchtext%3DSnell%2Btype%2BAIII

Your B&K is a nice receiver. I own the 307 in my HT setup driving
Totem's. But, the B&K's are not known for their performance into lower impedances. The 707 is rated at 125w into 8 ohms with no indication of the output into 4 ohms. My 307 puts out 150w into 8 ohms and 185 into 4 ohms; a far cry from the ideal "doubling of power" as you half the speaker impedance. The Snell's are rated at nominally 4 ohms, with probable dips somewhat below that, and 86db efficiency; not exactly an easy load. Having said all that, as the audio cliche says: "It's not about the number of watts as much as the QUALITY of the watts".

I like tubes, and the stereotype of tubes necessarily sounding soft and mushy with "peach fuzz" is simply not true. What a good tube amp gives you is a sense of dimensionality and tonal correctness and fullness that many SS amps don't give you, IMO. While it is true that great SS amps can surpass many tube amps in bass control and power, many tube amps do very well in that department. This is a subjective opinion also shared by many, but tube amps also give the music a sense of aliveness (dynamic energy) that only the very best (expensive) SS can give you. Certain speaker/tube amp combinations just seem to have "the magic". That is what I heard with the Snell/VTL combo. Please remember that these are my opinions, and I fully expect some who read this to disagree. Another thing to consider is that the most often stated shortcoming of the Type A's (lack of soundstage depth) will be somewhat compensated for by what is one of the fortes of good tube amps, their superior rendering of dimensionality.

When I mentioned the VTL/Snell sound, I was not suggesting that the Type A's would not sound good with SS, only that they CAN sound fantastic with tubes. I have heard the Type A's sound great with Krell amplification, and I have no doubt that they would sound great with other
QUALITY solid state like Levinson, Classe and others. All simply more capable than a B&K AVR. But, it's a different kind of sound. Your choice.

As price is concerned, there are options available used right now that would certainly pique my interest. As far as tube amps go I would say $1500-$2000 is probably rock bottom. An older 150+w VTL could probably
be had for that, and there is a Jadis Defy7 for sale right now that is a fantastic amp, and I think would be fabulous with the Snell's. For SS and in that price range you should not have trouble finding a used older Krell, Levinson, Classe, and for a lot less, maybe a McCormack, or Bryston.

If you are not familiar with this site, it might be of interest:

http://www.snell.no/forum/index.php

Good luck.

I've heard the AIII many times (a friend had a pair back in the day), and like it a lot. I think that the AIII is an iconic design, but....

The one thing I've never heard from them is much in the way "depth". When set up properly, the imaging is very good laterally, and there's a sense of real weight to the localized sounds. However, I've never gotten a convincing sense of front to back depth or layering when listening to AIIIs - relative to many other speaker designs.

If that's your issue, I'm not sure that a new amp is going to change that.

Marty

When a speaker does as many things well as the Type A's do, a relative shortcoming becomes that much more pronounced. As already mentioned, soundstage depth is probably their biggest shortcoming. But, that does not mean that there is NO depth; there is. The B&K receiver will stifle a lot of the depth information before it even gets to the speaker. Electronics that excel in the depth department will allow the Snells to produce sufficient depth to possibly satisfy, IMO.

Marty, out of curiosity, did your friend use tubes or SS?

I certainly don't feel I get no depth even with the AIII and B&K combo. As I think Frogman implies, it's just that the shallowness is more noticeable with so much other wonderful presence from the music.

Turns out there's a well established vintage shop here in Austin and I plan to speak with them tomorrow. The Jadis D7 looks interesting but I can't get away from feeling the need for more power. Interesting to FM's first reply, there's a pair of VTL 300's on ebay. Supposedly working. I'll discuss with the local vintage guy.

BTW, I got my Snells from the original owner about five years ago. Came with original boxes and packing. I sent them directly to Snell for a complete check up. Ended up having the woofers rebuilt which took over six months because Snell was resourcing new supplier. They're amazing.

Also own pair of Snell EIII's and Ci's. Added a Snell LCR and their 300 powered sub to complete the HT setup.

Look forward to really unlocking the AIII's. I can feel the potential is there but still unopened.

Thanks