Wait! Stop! Before you BUY Vintage Speakers, Watch THIS! Snell Type C/V

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[@haycrossaudio5474]

Most of the speakers I repair and work on and sometimes upgrade are vintage. There's some good ones out there. Worked on a few Snells to. I liked this video. I bet that ended up being a great speaker. Cheers. Matt

[@mortlach186]

I recall that Snell speakers were designed with the x-overs compensating for the driver and not trying to match up pairs of drivers for the speakers. So, say you needed to replace a blown driver, the company would also send crossover components that needed replacement to get the balance correct again. Apparently, they kept graphs on every speaker they made. Maybe that is why you and Stereophile came up with different numbers.

[@umrswimr8969]

I can vouch for that. I had a tweeter get damaged and they send a new tweeter AND crossover parts.

[@PureBrew1]

Glad to see this pointed out. The Snell crossovers were hand tuned for each loudspeaker to a reference. So technically, the left and right speaker crossovers would have slight differences to compensate for the variations in the actual acoustic output of the drivers/loudspeakers. Atomic HiFi was set up with the references, parts and data by Snell to service all of the designs. As stated above, new replacement drivers will come with the crossover components carefully matched.

[@ryanfitzpatrick3256]

Correct

[@tedallen8391]

Your welcome for the shirt Danny. I used to drag race back in the 60's early 70's in Southern Calif. I had the first altered wheel base '62 Chevy SS driven on the street back in the day. Keith Black hemi. I started to drive Thommy Grove's funny car after his accident but that didn't work out. I still love going to the drags, it's in the blood I guess. All my speaker kits I built from you sound better every day. Keep up the great work for us music lovers. Ted Allen

[@dannyrichie9743]

Very cool and thanks again for the shirt. It is awesome. Here is one of my races driving my Dad's S-10: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYnMf3eBnKxgg5Y These are street legal cars that have seen time on the road.

[@tonylawrence2739]

TX Danny for: 1-the rewiring of the woofers to PARALLEL tip, the efficiency benefit is stunningly important; and, 2- your efforts believing these podcasts, I've been in this since the mid-80s and I learn things from you

[@FOH3663]

Dramatic wasn't it? The lowering of the impedance means the speaker uses the power it's fed differently... more current being drawn and dissipated.

[@EduardBroekman]

If you want to call the 16 to 4 ohm impedance change in the lows, 'efficiency'.. technically yes, but its just drawing 4x the power from an amp now which yields that +6dB. That said, I'm sure the lessened mid- and high attenuation is where sonic benefits will appear and solid state amps will like the new and much flatter 4-ohm impedance curve. I'm sure Danny knows the amp the owner has. The old XO looks more developed with NFB tube amps which have a more impedance-independent power output and distort less into higher impedances.

[@rf14dmb]

Love to see an old Snell get new life. These were built in my hometown and I've owned a few Snells over the years. Still have a pair of Type E.5 towers. They were my first high-er end speaker I purchased new as a teen (two years of xmas gifts actually). They are in the closet now and I've often thought to send them to GR to see what they could do...but they are massive and would cost hundreds to ship. By the way, the "V" in the name is the version...so this was the 5th iteration of the Type C line. Oh and your daughter was right about the hair ;)

[@umrswimr8969]

You should totally send them in!! (sent by a fellow E.5 owner who would benefit from your experiment!)

[@Keepee66]

Congrats on your daughters upcoming wedding!!! As for the haircut... this is what us Dads do for our children. L💞ve from Canada.

[@stevenjackson8226]

A Kevin Voecks design, as he took over after Peter Snell. I had the Type Ci and two pairs of C/Vs, one in black and one just like these in the light oak. I also had a pair of E/IIs. I suspect the Type E would still stand up well. Snell speakers were typically highly regarded for the integrity of their engineering and their sonics.

[@user-m3w5g]

I bought Type D ,light oak pair abt 12 years ago , super rare here in NZ , and had them for five years , they were fantastic overall one of the best sounding i have owned , probably should have kept them., a bit average in the looks department if that matters, Voecks was a great designer imo

[@martybousum1010]

Thanks for the admission to your classroom!

[@hondaphan4172]

In regards to drag racing, I grew up in Pennsville,NJ during the 60's & 70's and NHRA star Hank Endres lived two streets over from me. He kept the car and trailer at his house and he would occasionally fire up that monster and the entire neighborhood would shake. Hank held the world record at one time which was undeniably cool for us kids in the neighborhood. There's one or two videos on YT showing his epic crash which was horrific. Hank passed away around five years ago.

[@michaelluera6926]

Nice shirt I miss Hot Roding, drag strips and buildings engines in from the late 70s to the late 80s. the good old days. We breathed, ate and shit Hot Rodding. There were so many speed shops back then here in Houston. In the 70s Radio shack was nothing like now. I started building speakers from there drivers and speaker parts.

[@agtrst]

Thanks for the video. I have a set of Snells as part of my home theater system. Bought them around year 2000: E.5 towers and CR.5K2 center. They still sound great and never had a problem. Wish I had a Snell sub but I don't. I have two subwoofers: M&K and Energy. The Snells were expensive when I bought them but never regretted getting them. We used to go to CES and saw the larger and more expensive Snells there.

[@georgepyrgelis4217]

I wish to your daughter happiness and love in her life fr Greece you are magician 🇬🇷💜🤗👍

[@georgepyrgelis4217]

@GRReseach the best gift is your work on hi fi 😆😄

[@roberthart9886]

Way back in the dark ages I had Ed Long 3way time alignment speakers, which had good quality wood cabinetry. I upgraded the internal wiring, applied 3-4 coats of boro-silicate, drilled horizontal holes in the tall sides and ran long length of threaded rod with large washers (ala Michael Green), plus inserted some cotton like material

[@jimthvac100]

I appreciate what your saying about installing new drivers in an old cabinet but the problems you address are easily remedied. Just have to use woofers that work well with that internal volume and that is easy to figure out using WINISD. Then use what ever midrange/tweeters one wants to use also taking impedance into consideration. And install a custom crossover. I Don't build a lot of speaker cabinets so I try to find a good used cabinet that looks great and is well built then increase the rigidity if needed or add sound insulation. Then install the drivers I want to use with custom crossover. Sometimes I can use the same crossover where I only need to replace the capacitors because old ones were shot. I don't waste a good cabinet as that is the hardest part of speaker building. I also use REW to check speakers before and after modifications to see if I have a flat response or need to make additional modifications.

[@veroman007]

always blown away by your new measurements. nice to see an old speaker get a new life.

[@van94weightlossjourney]

Love the NHRA tshirt Danny!

[@mutatedgenome]

Great shirt and nice tight haircut. Your daughter's request was spot on.

[@marcparsons1726]

Danny your hair looks great!! Makes you look youthful!! Nice job on the video!!

[@toby9999]

Longer hair makes people look younger. Less hair equals older. Bald is the worst.

[@lumpy966]

That is a shirt and a a half! NHRA for the win!!!

[@joecharpentier6636]

I'm sorry but vintage can not be beat. I own a semi vintage pair of Epos Es12's and with a little tuning via wool batting and cabinet lining, they are the best sounding speakers I've owned and only outdone by the new Es14n. And not by much at all. Epos knows how to build something thats massively enjoyable to listen to. Every time I sit down to listen I'm still blown away. EVERY TIME!!.😮😊

[@raidendigital1003]

I miss the version of Danny with a mullet. I hope those deco home speakers come back someday and are still 50 SpaceBucks a pair. I'm curious what Danny would think of them. The drivers seam really nice for the price, and you could do any mods you want without fear cus they're so cheap.

[@yuckysamson]

Would love to see the Danny Ritchie rebuild of a Type A. That was a beast.

[@Mrsteve4761]

My Type A/II have something around 20 electrolytic capacitors each; 3rd order xover if I recall correctly. These things restored are quite remarkable. At the time, Peter hand tuned each speaker, using small value electroyltics in bundles to attain a specific MFD.

[@ARGBlackCloud]

Congratulations Danny on your daughters wedding. Great shirt , nice job done on the Snell C/V

[@islandlightphotodotcom7162]

Love my Diatones and Victor Zero 5. 40+ yrs old. New surround on woof. Next a couple new caps and bindng posts. Extremely awesome.

[@SubTroppo]

"Dad-dee, you're not planning to wear THAT shirt to the wedding are you?" Well, I got my hair cut didn't I?

[@dannyrichie9743]

She picked out my attire as well.

[@j-w-67]

Thanks for explanning front baffle diff.🤗👍

[@jorgem50]

I took a pair of bose 501 IV and put in all new drivers and crossovers. Basically a whole new setup. The results are fantastic

[@trulsdirio]

Bought some ELAC S20 locally for 50€, they are a bit forward in the 500 and 2-4k hz region, but responded well to equalization and now perform absolutely fantastically. Imaging is really precise and surprisingly wide giving the precision. Bass is impressively fast, crisp and goes down to 36hz in my room (about -3db at 36hz). Mids are well articulated but the least impressive part of the speakers I would say. Treble is super detailed but not fatiguing. For the price I honestly feel bad for how well they work in my setup lol

[@gino3286]

Hi could you please tell me something more about the equalization? Thanks Gino

[@MichelLinschoten]

I use m&k s1b in my main system (until I get my magnepans ) got to say they use peerless drivers as well . Fantastic sound

[@christofmunzner8916]

Congrats for the great upcoming party. And the haircut looks awesome

[@jwilson086]

Congrats on the upcoming wedding! There’s nothing that can prepare a person for experiencing the launch of a top fuel dragster for the first time. Simply awesome.

[@xxxYYZxxx]

First time I heard top fuel drag racing (from across the street @ Pomona), I figured the burnouts were the same SPL level as the actual race. 🤣

[@kentxx12]

I have these,and i just love them as they are ;)

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Congrads on your daughters wedding Danny! The hair is stylin'

[@Eschew_Obfuscation]

Hey Danny. Your hair look’s great! It suits you. Best wishes!

[@mircea5013]

literally was thinking about the haricut and the shirt. Both fit you great. Also, you're daughter has good taste :))

[@PharaoRamsesII]

Awesome hairstyle! Looks Fresh

[@thenexthobby]

From the era where Snell soon discovered home theater, and not long after Keven Voecks left to form Revel. I owned the C IV, last of the 3-driver versions … in some ways better than the III and in some ways not so much. From the ‘80s, Snells were sold as marched pairs (within .5db or whatever) and if you blew a driver you had to supply the speaker’s serial number so that they could supposedly pick a driver for you that measured within the expected range of that speaker. Sounds like B.S. today, because I don’t know that Snell actually kept records of how each speaker paid measured.

[@SuperMcgenius]

The cut looks good, hope the wedding goes well.

[@MichaelDavitt1]

Hey Danny thanks for a great channel! Have you ever considered making an external /outboard adjustable crossover that would work for a variety of drivers. You just rewire drivers to bypass internal crossover straight to rear connection and out to the external crossover connected to the amp. Thanks in advance for your answer. Wishing you all the best for the Holidays.

[@dannyrichie9743]

If only that were possible. The crossover doesn't just create a slope, but has to be custom designed to control each driver within the range they play. I have never designed a crossover that was the same or that would work in anything else that I have designed.

[@MichaelDavitt1]

@@dannyrichie9743 Danny thanks for your kind reply. Your logic makes sense. Have you ever designed a better crossover for the B&W 801 Matrix (original square cabinet) they had a "Variable Bass Alignment Filter & Equalizer" you could purchase to smooth the bass response. I'm interested in an upgrade for these speakers. Thanks Sir!

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@MichaelDavitt1 I did. I turned the upper section into a two way design and the customer added a subwoofer plate amp to the lower woofer. This improved sound quality by a LOT and added flexibility down low.

[@JukeboxAlley]

That's a fine set of speakers

[@FOH3663]

As a father of a recent bride I can relate. However, damn, ... mullets are back and strong as ever! Yep, the ol' Kentucky Waterfall is what I'd rock ... that is, if I hadn't been shaving my dome for 40 years!

[@boriken395pr]

Congrats on your daughter's wedding, and cool shirt!

[@wayneg1197]

Hi Danny, i like the shop vid's. Congrats on your daughter's wedding.

[@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio]

Nice haircut. Good vid. Cheers.

[@jamestyrer907]

Accordinding to some of the reviews at the time, some of the ultimate vintage speakers would be ADS L810 and L1290. Unfortunately, as you said, all of the value is the drivers.

[@NeilBlanchard]

Interestingly, Snell Acoustics has hand-tuned crossovers to the actual drivers in each speaker. At least in the earlier speakers. This is the 5th generation Type C - very different from the first gen.

[@ImTheDudeMan471]

An extremely popular 70's-80's speaker was the DCM Time Window. Can you review that one?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I am not really a reviewer. If someone sends one in though, I will take a look at it.

[@stevenbullock9276]

Interesting. I've owned a couple pair of C/Vs over the years and liked them a lot. Would be curious how the upgrade changes it.

[@brianwheeler3861]

I've been trying to learn this stuff but man I tell you what I'm not getting very far with it

[@njrumenos]

Nice shirt Danny, we just had top fuel running down here

[@johndaddabbo9383]

The hair - looks good. Smart daughter!

[@DabNabber]

The hair looks great!

[@adambrown8867]

Looks way better. Is Snell the one who designed those big box wide baffle 2 way rear ported speakers that pissed off a bunch of people because it was made cheap but sounded good?

[@Sooopa_Doopa]

Snell is the one that Audio Note copied and was a big influence on John DeVore

[@zippymagee]

Great shirt!

[@keithfailmezger1596]

i own the snell B minors ..have you played around with this model ? i really like mine .

[@Aswaguespack]

Looks like your stock of air core inductors is running low 😉😂 Hope your big Family Event was an Epic success and keep the videos coming. 👍🏻

[@dannyrichie9743]

That is just what we pull from to fill kit orders. We have a LOT more than that in stock.

[@shaywarren]

Congratulations to your daughter

[@yvesboutin5604]

Hi Danny! I have a question: if I can't find the original drivers to replace the old ones, can I use a replacement with the same size and impedence or the T-S parameters have to be identical to be a proper match? Thanks for the video and the answer!

[@calvincurry8496]

I have a pair of Snell Q s Bookshelf speakers.

[@gregoryeleary8779]

Hello Thank you for what you do for AUdio I have a set of Jim Thiel 3.6 from say 1989 from when they came out i said in this price range i could not find a better sounding Spker even at double price Now my Issue is my Friend OCD want to sell me a pair of pbn Liberty spkers will this make me fall back into my chair again thank you

[@glenncurry3041]

Two things. Congratulations on your daughter's wedding. Wish them the best! And Model S Plaid?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Thanks and the Model S PLaid is bad ass.

[@glenncurry3041]

@@dannyrichie9743 But what does it do to drag racing when a silent car beats a flame throwing rail? It's like an iPhone doing 20-20khz at 110dbSPL? 🙂

[@danielm6507]

How did you manage the impedance not dropping further by going Parallel?

[@skip1835]

video subject matter aside - - very cool shirt Danny - - NOTHING like a fuel car doing it's thing!

[@cobar5342]

Thank you for a great video

[@mgsboedmisodpc2]

Yes can you upgraded a Vandersteen Model 2ce

[@jeffsloane8628]

Full Dad points to you for the cut Danny.

[@paulmanhart4481]

Hi Danny. Good video. I have a pair of Snell E/III’s that I bought new in 1993 for $800. I loved the open sound, the drums boomed and cymbals sounded like symbols. My test CD while shopping for speakers was “The End” by the Doors. I listened to a lot of speakers and walked out. But when I heard the E/III, I said “Sold”. I had to replace drivers a few years ago. But my question is, do you have any thoughts on how to modernize them? Thanks, Paul

[@dannyrichie9743]

There is not much I can tell you haven't not had one in house for measurements and evaluation.

[@MrSwedjen]

The coating on the tweeters usually flakes and cracks due to age. It's tough to find replacements or the correct coating. I've got the J II'S.

[@Nakagawa451]

I have a pair of Type D which is at same design except it has a woofer instead of two. I would much appreciate if Danny can give me some suggestions in regards to possible upgrades.

[@zackobrien2223]

The same upgrades.

[@petebeckett3870]

congratulations to your daughter.

[@gordiefrench5342]

Hey Danny Looking sharp with the hair cut Question for you , I bought a used set of your braided cables on Canuck audio mart here in Canada My jaw dropped at the difference all people hereat the time heard. Which made me wonder is there any plans in the works for even better cables? Thank you for one of the best channels with the best content

[@dannyrichie9743]

We have interconnects in the works now too. So that's coming.

[@scottbyers33]

As always love the video's you make, some of these speakers I've heard of and others not. One quick question I would like to ask is, what would your recommendation be for a budget friendly tube amp be. I have a small room that I use for my toys and I would like to throw together a turntable and one of my old pairs of speakers with a decent tube amp to jam to while I'm rebuilding or modding my RC cars

[@johnholmes912]

I have yet to hear a modern bookshelf that compete with my 1985 vintage stand-mounts

[@RennieAsh]

What's are they? I have some of a similar vintage that are great for listening for long periods. I can hear where they aren't as good as some newer offerings but they are good enough to keep around

[@vintageguy6520]

I think the PSB Stratus series of the mid to late 90s used Vifa drivers. They would be candidates for something like this since they are more common and still a nice speaker.

[@FOH3663]

Weren't those designed with access to the Canadian Research facility... anechoic chamber etc.?

[@vintageguy6520]

@@FOH3663 I believe you are correct. Nice speakers.

[@theguitaramptech]

Thank you for another great video. Being an engineer, I enjoy your scientific approach. I have had my JBL L5's since the early 90s. Do you have some advice on what I can do to upgrade/improve/maintain these speakers?

[@madcrabber1113]

How did you acquire your knowledge of how to upgrade speakers? I would love to learn how to upgrade and/or repair some of my speakers and subs but have no clue where to start. I wouldn't even be able to assemble one of your kits with my current lack of skills.

[@1982travm]

Have you ever upgraded a pair of AR90's?

[@jked7463]

You look good with short hair. It's you.

[@jackpytleski7750]

I would like to send my old Infinitys and have you go through them!

[@nascarracer886]

Great video, I think there is lots of interest in vintage speakers. Have you ever refurbished /crossover upgrade for Kef 104s?

[@jamesmccaffrey1892]

Happy haircut!

[@darrengillesdarrengilles8336]

Has GR ever reviewed a pair of Dahlquist DQ10"s ?

[@zackobrien2223]

Danny, would you say these are still worth acquiring in the $600~ range? Or what floor stander would you recommend? (Can be used or new) Coming from Thiel CS 1.6 (my current mains), Snell Type D, Apogee Centaurs, Mordaunt Short 442

[@glengatt3941]

Finally something he likes))

[@Bar-D831]

Have you ever taken on an Ohm Walsh 2 speaker? That would be an interesting one.

[@AllboroLCD]

Co worker of mine used to do top fuel, says he cant put into words what doin the 1/4 in less than 5 seconds feels like. Also says one single run down that strip today costs about 15K! Talk about expensive hobby lol!

[@dannyrichie9743]

Wow, who's your coworker?

[@AllboroLCD]

@@dannyrichie9743 Fella by the name of Dave Wesley. Pretty sure he only raced the area here in the northeast.

[@davidmorgen4558]

What about the Dahlquist DQ Ten?,

[@TriAmpMyFi]

Why aren't the vertical lines equidistant on the frequency response graph?

[@olbucky9413]

Much prefer the lighting in the shop.

[@rocket625]

congratulations

[@jerry859]

i have a pair of snell type A dated back to the mid 1980 these have a pair of white coned becker 10" woofers a pair phillips 4" midrange (which were used in the dahlquist 10) and an audax 1" soft dome tweeters, which i replaced with the new version with very satisfactory results. i drew out the schematic of both and checked it twice before replacing the capacitors. and to be honest i didnt hear much difference in the caps. just my thoughts

[@spandel100]

Cool haircut.

[@rts100x5]

NHRA ALL DAY !!!!!

[@dextermorgan1]

The only vintage speaker I'd still own are the Polk SDA's from the 80's and early 90's. They still sound great.

[@gluegod]

Can you make an improve crossover for Snell Type D?

[@zackobrien2223]

It’s literally the same.

[@chriswhite9912]

FYI how much was kit for this? Just in case someone sees a set of speakers and would like to know what an upgraded pair would cost. Thanks

[@miguelmunoz1713]

I see more followers almost 60k 👏

[@cubinn149]

Howdy yall nice haircut just like my brother inlaw

[@cf6040]

A question with an Aleph 5 60 watt pure class A power amp is it possible to drive Snell Type-Cs, thank you

[@zackobrien2223]

Yes, just keep volume level reasonable.

[@George.___]

Has Danny ever upgraded the Realistic Mach 1’s?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I have not.

[@KillerKojak]

Magnepan MG-12 pleaaaase......

[@dannyrichie9743]

Someone will have to send one in.