Snell LCR7 XL Build Quality

Snell is not a new name in speakers and is known for high end in-room and in-wall offerings. The LCR7 XLs are one of their premier speakers that feature a design by Snell Chief Engineer Joe D’Appolito memorializing the 30th anniversary of Snell Acoustics. Utilizing a D'Appolito array (or Mid-Tweet-Mid, MTM for short, design) and the renown SEAS XL drivers, the LCR7 XL represent the pinnacle of what you can achieve through components and experience. At $6000 a pair, they certainly seem to be sparing no expense. There is a standard LCR7 version without the driver and crossover upgrades that retails for $2000/pair. Honestly, when I agreed to the review, I thought I was getting the standard version. Talk about a welcomed surprise!

Build Quality

My first impression of the Snell Acoustics LCR7 XL was not as positive as you might think. They were single-boxed encased in a plastic bag with a foam endcap. While my thoughts on the ubiquitous cotton sock are well known to Audioholics readers, let me restate - I hate them. I much prefer plastic as it actually protects rather than just gives some sort of pseudo-impression of quality. With a speaker like the LCR7 XL, you certainly don't need to put on airs. No, my concern was the boxing. While the speaker arrived in good condition despite the shipper's best efforts to the contrary (notice the gash on the side of the box), the box was not sealed. There were only a few staples across the top! I could actually see inside of the box from the top. This seems to be a very convenient way for rain, snow, bugs, and all matter of debris to get access to the speaker during storage and transit. Especially here in Florida where it rains pretty much every day, I'd be concerned about damage. At this price point, components are usually shipped in crates! Luckily, the speakers did not have any damage of that sort as they were in transit during a particularly unusual (for the summer) dry-spell.

Unboxing the speakers, I couldn't help but be impressed by their size and weight. The LCR7 XLs are one of the larger bookshelf speakers I've had the pleasure of reviewing and I couldn't help but wonder how they would do on stands. I suspected (correctly as you'll see later) that they'd be fine because of the weight. At 26 lbs, the LCR7 XLs feel solid. Extremely solid. So solid you'll wonder if there is any space left in there for the drivers. The speakers are only 7" wide and a bit over 8" deep but a whopping 19" tall. You'll probably recognize these measurements more resemble a center channel than a bookshelf - and you'd be right. D'Appolito design are optimized for vertical orientation but in the right situations, they can also function well horizontally for center channel duties. The LCR designation should give this away as the speaker is designed to be used as a Left, Right, or Center channel (of course, surround and rear speakers are also on the table but LCRSR is a little cumbersome, don't you think?).

Editorial Note on the D'Appolito Design by Gene DellaSala
A D’Appolito driver topology can only be truly optimized for vertical orientation. The crossover network is usually designed for flat axial response as opposed to flat power response (which is only the same when the speaker is an infinitesimally small point in space). This can never be true for a D'Appolito Array for obvious reasons. If you have your front L & R at 30 degrees, then having a smaller horizontal dispersion window will cut down on inter channel interference and likely result in better stereo imaging. Using a speaker like this as a center channel oriented horizontally is a special case. For the most part, people have to locate the center channel above or below the screen, so by having a larger radiation angle top to bottom (vertical), instead of left to right (horizontal) makes a lot of sense. Now for a Left or Right channel speaker, since this is far more likely to be at or near optimum level (height) for listening, you want a wider horizontal dispersion, and a narrower vertical dispersion, as side wall reflections are better spatial cues for imaging than are ceiling and floor reflections which tend to be more likely to detract from the sound quality in a normal room than do side wall reflections. This is why you would orient this speaker vertically for the front channels and NEVER horizontally.

The review samples have a cherry veneer (gloss black is also an option as are custom finishes for those interested) and a black metal mesh grill (silver is also available). I had a bit of a time getting the grills off at first before I figured out that you needed to pull out from the sides. There are thin strips of rubberized tape around the tabs at the top and bottom of the grills. The sides of the cabinet have an indentation where the end of the grill snaps in to keep them in place. They were never as secure as I'd like as I noticed a little movement of the grills with some nudging. However, there was never any noise from the grill during playback (when the grills were one which wasn't often with speakers as good looking as these). I was surprised to see Snell go with this grill design especially considering how popular (and well implemented) magnetic grills have become. For a speaker in this price point, this grill seems unnecessarily cluncky.

Underneath the grill you'll notice the copper highlights of the woofer phase plugs and ring around the tweeter. The front baffle is black and the drivers are inset. The woofers are 5.25" with magnesium cones. The tweeter has a Sonotex dome (a proprietary fabric from SEAS) and a neodymium magnet. As mentioned, the drivers are all manufactured by SEAS, a Norway based driver manufacturer known for some of the highest quality transducers and in business since 1950. If you think Snell is skimping on the drivers, you're sadly mistaken. These are components of the highest order which is reflected in the retail price of this product.

The edges of the speaker are all rounded and the sides and back sport the cherry veneer. The tops and bottom are capped with a black bushed aluminum plate (silver, again, also available). The aluminum obviously adds to the weigh of the speaker but also allows for worry-free stand placement. Unlike veneered surfaces which can scratch, ding, or dent, the aluminum is practically invulnerable. The back of the speaker has a small, inset housing with two pairs of binding posts with an included jumper bar. The copper motif is not carried through to the back of the unit with the binding posts and jumper having a brushed steel look. There is also a boundary compensation switch for placement close to walls. I actually like the more industrial look of the binding posts. It gives the LCR7 XLs a bit of a different look from the more traditional binding posts you see on every other speaker on the market.

The fit and finish of the speaker overall was very good. The only problem I noted was where the grills met the cabinet. As I mentioned, the way the mesh grills work is that they slide between the aluminum top/bottom plate and around the sides of the baffle. The problem was where it met the veneered sides, it had damaged the veneer. This was clearly visible on close inspection on both speakers (before I tried getting the stubborn grills off). While the edges of the grill are bent over and not at all sharp, moving the speaker (like taking it from the box to the stand) generally pushes on the grill. This in turn pushes on the edge of the veneer which causes it to split. I don't see how this damage is going to be avoided given the grill design. My advice upon receipt of the speaker is to check those edges carefully for damage. If there is none (or not enough to make you send them back), make sure not to put too much pressure on the grill when you are moving the speaker around. This seems to me to be a bit of a slip in a speaker at this price point. For $6k, you shouldn't have to treat your speakers with kid gloves. Honestly, these speakers are so good looking without the grills that I wish Snell would just put a small screen over the tweeter and leave it at that. The phase plugs protect the most vulnerable part of the woofer by eliminating the dust cap and the only point that draws little fingers left is the dome tweeter.

Opening up the speakers, it is easy to see that the quality did not stop with the choice of drivers. Under each driver is a thin rubber ring to reduce any physical noise. The woofers have a cast basket, the tweeter is in a sealed backbox, and the crossover spans nearly the entire back of the cabinet encompassing two separate boards. There is a center brace directly behind the tweeter. The box is constructed out of 5/8" MDF and is absolutely stuffed full of polyfill. I don't think I've ever seen so much polyfil in a box this size before. The cabinet construction and bracing explains the overall inertness of the box as the "knock" test practically hurt my knuckles. The connectors on the drivers are the snap on rather than soldered which is a bit unexpected at this price point. While it made it easier for me to get pictures, I expected a more permanent connection. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of "lug" attachment to allow for easy service while providing a more robust connection than the snap on type. I've seen more than one snap-on connector bent and nearly broken in speakers in the past. The crossover appears to be constructed of quality parts with high tolerance big yellow poly caps, ceramic resistors. The wiring is a bit thin and I was surprised to see they didn’t use twisted pair to reduce coupling and noise pickup.