The Snell Type J/IV was my first foray into Snell "vintage" (read: Peter Snell designed or influenced, RIP) speakers and I only sold them to try and move up the Snell tree replacing them with E/III. The E/III was also an excellent speaker, as all Snell are, but the rear-firing tweeter made it much more difficult to place well in my rather small listening room and did not have the same sort of punchy bass extension as the J/IV, even though they use identical woofers and front tweeters! The J/IV definitely can sound like a much bigger speaker and don't let the 50Hz roll off point shy you away... these will produce usable bass below 50Hz although a subwoofer is recommended for home theater use or thumping hip hop, etc. That said everything these do above 50Hz make these a put up a good fight against MANY speakers cost several times more than their $800 MSRP.

Possibly one of the best speakers I've ever owned and now I'm on the long hunt to locate another pair. If you can find a pair cheap, disregard everything you have ever read about them (including this review) and sell them to ME!

A soundstage and bass extention comparable to speakers costing much, much more. Well built. Bi-wireable.

Can be bass heavy if not placed at the proper distance from the wall. Outdated look.

I currently own the first iteration of the Type J's from the late 70's. I picked them up at a used stereo shop when I was building my first system. I have since replaced the electronics a few times, but can't seem to part with my Type J's. I have listened to several pairs of speakers costing a lot more than what I paid for my Snells, trying to upgrade my system, and nothing seems to come close. I thought it was just me, but after reading the reviews here, I think there is something to this speaker. It's well balanced, maybe a tad bass heavy but you can experiment with different distances from the back wall. It makes a huge difference. It throws a broad and deep soundstage that is well defined. I agree with the reviews in that this is a great jazz/R&B speaker, but not so much on the rock and roll side of the spectrum. The other wonderful thing about the Snells is the more power you give them, the better they get. I have mine bi-amped with audioquest cable and AMC power amps and the Snells just sing. Try a good female jazz pianist/vocalist with them, it's heaven. If you can find a pair of these used, grab 'em. They make a great pair of speakers for the beginning or intermediate audiophile, but becareful because you may never want to get rid of them.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602, AE aegis 3s.

Sometimes available on the used market for $400 or less. Very fine speaker as home theater "mains." I, too, use them with a Snell CC-1 (and Snell Ms for surround). Typically excellent Snell fit and finish. Smooth mids, slightly bright highs when compared to Snell Ds, for example, and extended bass for a speaker its size. Tweeter level control, bi-wireable. Big enough to set them as "large" in your audio/video setup procedures (unless they are directly across the room from your subwoofer, in which case you could LOSE bass by cancellation). Put them on low stands but keep kids and dogs away because the narrow base makes 'em "tippy."

I curse Stereophile for recommeded components. If it's not recommeded, then the speakers are "crap". I would like to highlight the older audio guys wisdom of telling me to "trust my ears". I so was brainwashed into thinking that B&W was the end all for speakers. So I rallied up the troops, ran down to a mid-fi audio dealer (read Myer-Emco for the DC fans), and tried to audition the Matrix series. Overpriced, for the performance. I looked around and auditioned their "fine" selections of Def Tech, Canton, Boston, B&W, Polk Audio, and Snells. I love Snells by far... Give me Type A,B,C,D,E,J any day. Well, that was back in August '97, now I want Von Schweikert VR-4 Genll. BUT, for $500 used, Snell Type J/IV, will tastefully and faithfully play your jazz, R&B, vocals, and classical for LONG periods of time, without fatigue. Industrial, grunge, and hip-hop would not be your music of choice, but I listen to that as well as all types of music, and Type J/IV floorstander is a solid all-rounder. Look at a Type J/IV as a all-seasoned radial, - It will get you there, smoothly, quickly, with the rhythm you enjoy. Home theater sounds great with Snell CC-1 as my center speaker.

I can't believe these speakers aren't more popular.. They produce a very warm, smooth sound, and play everything from classical to hard rock extremely well. Bass from it's 8 inch woofer is rich and deep, and the highs very detailed, yet not at all harsh. I bought these speakers as a second set for our living room (B&W 602's in family room), and now I find myself hanging out in the living room!!Besides the fact that they sound terriffic, they are very attractive, and well built speakers (not suprising for Snell). These speakers retail for $800 a pair,(which they are worth every penny), but now they are discontinued and can be found for much cheaper. I bought floor models from our local hi-fi shop for $500!!
Snell has replaced this model with $800 bookshelf speakers, which sound nice, but are not as full or as sophisticated sounding as the J IV's. If you are lucky enough to find a pair, buy them!! You will not be dissapointed. Oh by the way, they are easy to drive.. I currently have a $500 reciever driving them (if I spent any more my wife would make me sleep with it), and they sound fine.

Magneplanar smg cI must say that I'm fully pleased with these speakers. I currently drive them with a class a tubed amp producing only 12 watts! There are no signs that this little Audion amp should give any problems with bass control or the fact that the speakers are specified at 4 ohms. My theory is, that the planar magnetic design in itself is quite self-damping and therefore the damping factor in the amp is of less importance. I must say, that this combination is something to recommend! Of course, you cannot play extremely loud. But my opinion is, that if the quality of sound is at a very high level, why bother about the quantity of it? The dynamic expressions of this combo is even better than when I used them with a 60watts solid state...

I'm a budget audiophile who was in the market for looking for a good system for around $1500, I went with a couple of friend today to listen to the Snell J IVs, I must say that they threw a wonderfully wide soundstage with the best imaging that you'll find at this price (The demos I listened to were $689) Unfortunetly the dealer that I auditioned them at only had one pair left which were the demos that he had opened up two days earlier, I used a NAD 314 integrated amp with this, which sadly like the type J have also been discontinued. I can't believe why more people don't know about the type J's their wonderful, when I compare them to my previous speaker, the B&W602's I think that everything about the J is better, like when you hear a timponi, you can actually hear the skin or the drum head streching, it's amazing for that kind of quality at this kind of price. I also listened to Energy C4's Paradigm Monitor 7's, the PSB Century 600i and other B&W's (603), I have to say that none of them even come close to the perfermance of the Type J. Well done Snell but why did you have to discontinue such great speakers and not replace them with anything?

Until I read these reviews I did not know the J/IV's had been discontinued.What a shame. I shopped for new speakers for over two years and finally
bought the Snell J/IV's after listening to 20-30 pairs of speakers (in the
price range of $800 to $8,000 a pair). I've been listening to these Snell
speakers for 1 1/2 years now and I am often (still) surprised at the great
reproduction of every source thrown at them including CD's, VCR and DirectTV.
I am using two Crown D-150 A's to bi-amp this pair with great results.
The reproduction of music on CD's is without compare in this price range.
(I payed around $800 for the pair) Had I known these were being discontinued
I would have tried hard to obtain another pair. If you can locate a pair I
strongly suggest buying them or at least email me where I could buy them.
I listened to loudspeakers costing twice as much that did'nt sound half as
good as the Snell JIV.

Great sound and imaging

None

I have a pair of Snell J-Series Speakers purchased in 1994 that continue to have great sound. I'm in the market for a new pair/small pair of bookshelf speakers (moving in with girlfriend to very small apartment) that won't make me miss my old Snells. I have a Rotel tune/amp powering them. Anyone who has a good recommendation will get a sharp discount on the Snells

Balanced overall sound.

No longer made.

Although no longer made, this is a superb mid-size speaker with a smooth and clear midrange, a clean top end, decent low-end for it's size (50hz), fantastic fit and finish with the option for bi-wiring which I recommend. Goes reasonably loud as well. Not a head-banger speaker by any means but is perfect for jazz, folk, blues, and classical music. Needs heavy, spiked lead-filled stands for maximum sonic benefit. Loves tube equipment as well. Somewhat of a forward sounding (read immediate) speaker overall with a reasonably wide and deep soundstage. Can sound very good at a low volume. The bi-wring option 'opens' the speaker up a tad and gets a slightly better overall sound. This is a great speaker for small-ish to medium sized rooms. Very well-balanced and a bargain to boot!