Snell to close

[speaker dave]

Sad news this week that D&M Holdings (Denon and Marantz) will be closing Snell.

http://www.twice.com/article/451168-D_M_Ho...ell_Escient.php

Snell always had a checkered history, flirting continuously with bankruptcy, but creating many much loved products in the mean time. Peter Snell designed the original type A, known for its low diffraction widely curved baffle and boundary placed woofer. Kevin Voeks followed after Peters death with popular models such as the C5 and original THX 500 series. I was Chief Engineer then President from 1996 to 2002. While there we expanded the home theater offerings, became the first THX Ultra II licensees and developed the XA series and XA Reference (Stereophile Class A for a period). More recently Joe DiApolito had been designing very well regarded products.

Central to the company was a craft oriented cabinet shop that made beautiful cabinets and wasn't afraid of custom work, under Julio Quintano. One custom project was a two-in-one stereo speaker for the White House. Bob Graffy handled the dealer side and David Logvin did much of the engineering.

There had been talk of moving Snell to the McIntosh factory. That might have been a good marriage. Mac has a good dealer base and Snell could teach them a little about speaker design (!). It would have been an expensive move and I suspect the recession made them reconsider.

Too bad.

David

[bikdav]

Sad news this week that D&M Holdings (Denon and Marantz) will be closing Snell.

http://www.twice.com/article/451168-D_M_Ho...ell_Escient.php

Snell always had a checkered history, flirting continuously with bankruptcy, but creating many much loved products in the mean time. Peter Snell designed the original type A, known for its low diffraction widely curved baffle and boundary placed woofer. Kevin Voeks followed after Peters death with popular models such as the C5 and original THX 500 series. I was Chief Engineer then President from 1996 to 2002. While there we expanded the home theater offerings, became the first THX Ultra II licensees and developed the XA series and XA Reference (Stereophile Class A for a period). More recently Joe DiApolito had been designing very well regarded products.

Central to the company was a craft oriented cabinet shop that made beautiful cabinets and wasn't afraid of custom work, under Julio Quintano. One custom project was a two-in-one stereo speaker for the White House. Bob Graffy handled the dealer side and David Logvin did much of the engineering.

There had been talk of moving Snell to the McIntosh factory. That might have been a good marriage. Mac has a good dealer base and Snell could teach them a little about speaker design (!). It would have been an expensive move and I suspect the recession made them reconsider.

Too bad.

David

Wow! On the surface, that's sad. But, with the latest Snells looking and in many ways sounding like Boston Acoustics offerings, something had to give eventually. Snell was just plain unique before D&M Holding got a hold of them. Those of you who are lucky enough to own Snells now have some serious collectors items.

[Pete B]

Sad news this week that D&M Holdings (Denon and Marantz) will be closing Snell.

http://www.twice.com/article/451168-D_M_Ho...ell_Escient.php

Snell always had a checkered history, flirting continuously with bankruptcy, but creating many much loved products in the mean time. Peter Snell designed the original type A, known for its low diffraction widely curved baffle and boundary placed woofer. Kevin Voeks followed after Peters death with popular models such as the C5 and original THX 500 series. I was Chief Engineer then President from 1996 to 2002. While there we expanded the home theater offerings, became the first THX Ultra II licensees and developed the XA series and XA Reference (Stereophile Class A for a period). More recently Joe DiApolito had been designing very well regarded products.

Central to the company was a craft oriented cabinet shop that made beautiful cabinets and wasn't afraid of custom work, under Julio Quintano. One custom project was a two-in-one stereo speaker for the White House. Bob Graffy handled the dealer side and David Logvin did much of the engineering.

There had been talk of moving Snell to the McIntosh factory. That might have been a good marriage. Mac has a good dealer base and Snell could teach them a little about speaker design (!). It would have been an expensive move and I suspect the recession made them reconsider.

Too bad.

David

Very sad news David, it would have been excellent if they merged with McIntosh.

I've not heard modern Snell's probably in the last ten years or more unfortunately.

Would have really liked to have heard your flagship - fantastic review by the way:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/556/