Snell K/II refoam

[hotdogst]

Hey all

I picked up a pair of Snell K/II speakers from my uncle for free, and they need a refoam. I've never replaced the surrounds on speakers before so I guess this is as good a place to start as any!

My main question is: what sort of surrounds do I buy? As I'm sure everyone knows there are many options for generic 8" refoam kits, as well as kits that (claim to be?) made specifically for this speaker.

In addition, other AK threads suggest that it is possible to contact Snell and that they can supply stock surrounds.

Is there a meaningful difference between generic 8" surrounds and surrounds marketed as specifically for this speaker? Thanks for the help.

 

[spkrdtr]

Yes, there is a difference. I use the AN Snell foams. PM me for details.

 

[cratz2]

Dunno about the surrounds but they are very decent speakers when working properly.

 

[hotdogst]

Dunno about the surrounds but they are very decent speakers when working properly.

Yea for sure, the surrounds looked fine when I got them so I listened quietly for awhile; later I turned them up and the surrounds began falling apart so I quickly turned the music off. They sounded great though!

I'm just a little unsure of which surrounds to replace them with...it makes sense to use ones that are made for the specific speaker, I'm just not sure where to get the best ones.

 

[Andyman]

The AN ones apparently are more supple than the more common generics and allow the drivers to work as designed, where the generics may restrain the motion a bit and adversely affect the sound. Last time I looked the ANs ran about $20+ each plus shipping from England, so they could run you about say $40 more than a domestic kit would

That being said, a friend of mine has some Snell Es that may have the generic surrounds on them and they sound very nice.

 

[ronaldw441]

I used the ebay surrounds and it reduced the bass output quite a bit. They're just too thick. Next time I'm going with the AN surrounds.

 

[GoRNR]

I have a pair of Snell Type AIII's and didn't realize until after the purchase how critical the parts and service are, to maintain performance. I'm not familiar with your model, but with the A models a LOT of design and manufacturer testing went into the drivers to obtain the flattest frequency response (amongst other specs). IMO if there is a $40 price difference for the correct surrounds, it would be worth it the extra. YMMV. Good luck. :thmbsp:

 

[hotdogst]

The AN ones apparently are more supple than the more common generics and allow the drivers to work as designed, where the generics may restrain the motion a bit and adversely affect the sound. Last time I looked the ANs ran about $20+ each plus shipping from England, so they could run you about say $40 more than a domestic kit would

That being said, a friend of mine has some Snell Es that may have the generic surrounds on them and they sound very nice.

I used the ebay surrounds and it reduced the bass output quite a bit. They're just too thick. Next time I'm going with the AN surrounds.

I have a pair of Snell Type AIII's and didn't realize until after the purchase how critical the parts and service are, to maintain performance. I'm not familiar with your model, but with the A models a LOT of design and manufacturer testing went into the drivers to obtain the flattest frequency response (amongst other specs). IMO if there is a $40 price difference for the correct surrounds, it would be worth it the extra. YMMV. Good luck. :thmbsp:

Great info, thanks a bunch. I emailed customer support at AudioNote as the surrounds weren't on the website, hopefully they can hook me up.

 

[spkrdtr]

Great info, thanks a bunch. I emailed customer support at AudioNote as the surrounds weren't on the website, hopefully they can hook me up.

You are welcome. I don't think AN has foams for the model A. That woofer was larger than the model E, K and J series and was made by RCF, an Italian driver manufacturer.

 

[GoRNR]

spkrdtr--
For my woofers that required surrounds and spiders, I had correspondence with a service company that did some work for Snell. They maintained the mass loading on the woofer cones and the work quality looks very good. I've yet to get the mids serviced for deteriorated surrounds. Too many things going on at the moment to get the Type A's completely serviced and reassembled. I just wanted the OP to be aware of the design work and testing before he chose what sort of surrounds to purchase. I believe you are absolutely correct about the Italian origination of the woofers for the Type A's also.