Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

PLEASE NOTE: We have a typical well system. This review looks at how two Speakman units do on a well system. If you are on a municipal water supply you likely have higher pressure and water flow rate. I also removed the 2.5 gal limiter - more on that at the end of this review. I replaced our old Speakman Classic 32 (4 jet unit about $22 here on Amazon) with this S-2005-HB unit. Below is a review of both units. Speakman Classic 32 (found elsewhere in this Amazon shower head list) - A few years ago, and after trying quite a few mediocre shower heads, we stumbled upon this mighty little shower nozzle. It is about 2 1/2" in diameter with a more powerful spray than any other we had tried. It had only this one usable spray setting with maybe two dozens small, powerful streams but it made for a very nice shower experience. The Classic 32 lasted 4 or 5 years on our filtered well water system. However, it was slowly giving up the ghost to mineral deposits. I tried to clean out the jets a bit with a toothbrush but that only made it worse. We liked the Classic 32 unit so much I almost ordered a duplicate but decided to try a better Speakman unit instead. Speakman S-2005-HB - First thing you should note is that this is a big shower head - maybe 5 inches in diameter or about the size of the end of a 2 liter bottle! It is heavy, with a full chrome finish. The female 1/2" fitting is all metal too, as opposed to some with a female fitting made of chromed plastic. It really has two usable settings on the variable shower control lever. The first lever setting is a 4" wide rain shower with a lot of water flow from some 50 streams. Truth be told, it is not quite as powerful of a stream as the Classic 32. However, the Classic 32 has about half as many individual streams coming out so that makes some sense. Move the control lever 180 degrees and you have a very powerful shower message jet. This single massage jet is very impressive and effective - all the more so on our lower pressure system. The manufacturer claims that the lever allows unlimited, variable shower settings but that seems to be a bit of advertising fluff to me. I prefer to call it two settings only as the in-between positions on the variable lever really just split the water between the sets of jets, reducing both nozzles flow to the point of being ineffective in our installation. (PLEASE NOTE: If you have higher pressure and water flow rate, these in-between settings may be more useful. Please remember that I am on a well system). So what's the verdict? The less expensive Classic 32 is slightly more vigorous than the S-2005 on it's stream setting, but not by much. Having said that, the S-2005 does have a much wider coverage on your skin with more jets and it seems like the big nozzle delivers more water to rinse more quickly. The big difference between the two units is that the S-2005 also has that great massage setting that makes it clearly the better shower nozzle and maybe worth the extra few bucks to most people. On a well water system EITHER Speakman unit is better than most any other shower nozzle we have tried through the years! WARNING - Removing this restrictor is difficult so the following procedure is done at your own risk. You may also be subject to criminal prosecution and incarceration, ridicule from your friends, and nasty letters from the Audubon Society for being so "ungreen". But much worse, it will void your warranty so you are on you own now! Removing the restrictor - First, remove the black washer with stainless steel screen from the end of the fitting. The screen is easily bent back into shape before reinstalling it so just grab the screen with needle nose pliers and out it comes. Underneath is a round, white gizmo with an "o" ring in the middle of it. That is the restrictor. After I broke off all these little tabs trying to pull it out whole, I just drilled it out carefully with a 1/4" drill bit and took it out in pieces. Rinse it out, reinstall the filter screen and screw the nozzle back on to the shower nipple. It does seem to make the shower even better but it is a subtle improvement at best on my well system. Still, every little bit helps when on a well system. I hope this review was helpful to you. I try to give you the best info I can because I appreciate it so much when other reviewers give me the real facts I need to make an informed buyers decision.