The Snell J series loudspeakers in my opinion and in the opinions of many others is quite simply one of the top 5 loudspeakers ever built that can be purchased used for under $1000. This is a speaker so good that Audio Note took the basic design and turned it into a $30000 speaker in one of their variations. Dont believe me Google Audio Note and read for yourself. Great detailed mid range, base excellent for its size and a soind stage stolen from the Ryman Auditorium. And if you got 20 good watts, you got all the power you need. Cabinets are nice, drivers all good. I dont write this very often but when I do its true, many will spend a lot more today and get a lot less. Questions call or text 6152609569 thanks John The Snell Type J is a compact 8-ohm, two-way speaker system intended to bring the essential qualities of larger and costlier Snell speakers to a more popular price range. Although its size and proportions suggest a bookshelf speakerand it can be shelf-mounted, either vertically or horizontallythe Type J gives its best tonal balance when it is mounted vertically on floor stands suitable 10-inch stands are available from Snell about 1 to 3 feet out from a wall.The Type J speaker measures 23 inches high, 13 inches wide, and 10 inches deep, and it weighs 38 pounds. The cabinet is veneered in genuine oak or walnut and has a dark-brown cloth grille retained by plastic snap fasteners. There are no external level-adjustment controls, and the two five-way binding posts on 34-inch centers are recessed into the rear of the cabinet.The Snell Type .1 has an 8-inch long-throw woofer, with a polymer-treated cone, crossing over to a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter at 2,300 Hz. The enclosure is ported through a 1-12-inch opening that is vertically aligned with both drivers. The crossover network of each speaker system is individually adjusted to match its woofer and tweeter characteristics. Snell rates the Type Js frequency response at 50 to 22,000 Hz 2 dB under home listening conditions no measurement details are supplied. The nominal system impedance is 8 ohms, and its sensitivity is rated as a 90-db sound-pres-sure level at 1 meter with 2.8 volts of pink noise. The sensitivity of all production units is said to fall within a 0.5-dB spread. Recommended lifier power range is 15 to 150 watts.CommentThe recommended speaker placement produced the most pleasing results from the Type J speakers in our listening room. With them placed on the floor, the bass was a bit heavy we did not try shelf mounting. From the first hearing, we felt that these speakers produced a very attractive and balanced sound.Comparison with our much more expensive reference speaker systems revealed a distinctly different spatial perspective as well as spectral differences. The Type J produced a more forward sound and tended to sound brighter and crisper than the other speakers. On the other hand, there was surprisingly little difference in the bass apparently both speakers exhibit a similar mid-bass emphasis in our room. Such a comparison cannot positively identify a speaker systems particular merits or faults, but it did show us that the Snell Type J was able to hold its own very well against a very highly regarded system that is both larger and rather more expensive.We also appreciated the natural-oak veneer on our sle of the Snell Type J, which set it apart from the great mass of walnut-grain vinyl-covered speaker systems. These speakers should make a handsome addition to any listening room. The only measurement in which the Type J fell short of our expectations was its bass harmonic distortion at 10 watts input, a very loud listening level. This is obviously not the speaker of choice for generating lease-breaking sound levels of, say, pipe-organ music, at least if clean sound at that level is desired. But for delivering pleasant, balanced, and natural-sounding reproduced music at normal listening levels, we would have to give the Snell Type J a very high mark.
