- 2005-HB

I have VERY high expectations when it comes to performance from any shower head. Of course, one's plumbing setup can absolutely impact a person's overall satisfaction. As such, a good shower head alone can't absolutely guarantee a perfect shower experience. Some issues like hard water, or your system's water pressure capacity, may well be out of one's control. As for my specific application, I replaced a quality shower head that was perhaps 5+ years old. It had become clogged with mineral deposits, despite having generally soft water at my residence. I spent a significant due diligence reviewing various shower heads for sale on both Amazon and at the major home improvement stores. I would never make a hasty decision in this category. Most of the models I looked at had a price point of $30-$50. Reviews were generally mixed overall. I initially focused on products from the better-known plumbing brands like Moen, Delta, etc., assuming that they might be a step above an off-brand product. Despite this bias, it seemed that the brand names performed really no better overall, per customer feedback consensus. I vaguely recall owning a Speakman brand shower head in the past but was also familiar with the name from various hotel stays. After several days with the new shower head, I'll enthusiastically recommend it. Pressure is good overall, and it offers a nice wide spray pattern. The targeted, tight narrow massage alternative setting may be fine for some, but it's not something I would use personally. As an FYI, I made no effort to try and remove any sort of water restrictor. I used the product as delivered and was satisfied overall. I well recall the Seinfeld episode where Kramer buys the Commando 450 shower head looking for the ultimate pressure experience. You won't get that from this product, but this Speakman Anystream should satisfy most discriminating buyers. One final point. I bought the brushed nickel finish model. The online photo of this particular finish makes the product look a little gold. This is NOT the case with the actual product. It looks exactly as it should, typical brushed nickel appearance.

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.

Powerful shower head, easy to install, no leaks, easy to clean, well constructed with a nice finish. You can remove the water regulator by first removing the rubber washer with the screen. Use a flat head screw driver to flip this up and pull it out. Then you will see a plastic water regulator that all manufacturers are required to include. Use a screw driver to drive a small screw into this plastic regulator. Then use pliers to remove the regulator. You don't have to do this, as the water pressure is great even with this regulator in place. But if you have low water pressure, you'll want to do this for any shower head you buy.

Muy buena calidad, las funciones excelentes

Only for overhead showers

Fácil de instalar, con una potencia inigualable, está a un muy buen precio en comparación con otras regaderas, de hecho en Costco o Home Depot encuentras regaderas con esta misma potencia y funciones a el doble o triple de lo que puedes pagar por esta Speakman. Esta regadera la usan mucho en los Hoteles Marriot (EUA), esto fue básicamente lo que me atrajo a investigar un poco más acerca de la marca. Como otras reseñas lo mencionan, para obtener la potencia máxima de esta regadera, tienes que remover el pequeño plástico blanco que esta abajo del filtro de malla metálico. Primero quitas fácilmente el filtro de malla metálica, y este pequeño plástico blanco o regulador esta abajo de este filtro, lo puedes remover con unas pinzas de pico largo, no está pegado ni romperás nada de la regadera al removerlo siendo que solo esta fijo a presión. Este plástico sirve como regulador para la presión del agua. En EUA toda regadera por ley tiene que tener un regulador que es básicamente un "tapón" para que el agua no salga tan rápido en cantidades tan grandes, obviamente la intensidad de la presión de las tuberías en EUA es mucho mayor que las nuestras en Mexico, por lo mismo aquí en Mexico es recomendable quitarle este regulador para obtener la mejor experiencia con esta regadera. Altamente recomendable, llevo con ella un mes y medio sin ningún problema.

Buen producto

I've been using this for just over a month now and I'm impressed every time I take a shower. Installation was very simple, I didn't have a large enough wrench so I ended up using a large set of pliers cushioned with a cloth so I don't scratch the chrome finish. It took about 5 minutes to install, but definitely would have been quicker with a proper wrench. I had some teflon tape with me, so I used a bit of that during installation. It's not necessary though because the shower head includes a rubber o-ring that should prevent any leaking at the mounting point. Compared with my previous 'deluxe' shower head, this one has better pressure, better spread, and more even coverage. Then when you want to really get that deep clean, you flick the switch and you're facing an intense pulsing high pressure stream of water capable of massaging some tight muscles. Switching between the 2 modes is easy to do, even when you're blinded by shampoo in the eyes and your hands are slippery and covered in soap. Only downside I can think of is when you're on the jet-stream mode, the shower head does generate a moderate humming noise. It doesn't bother me at all, but for the weird people who like to shower in silence, it's something to consider. All in all, forget about all the other 'deluxe' shower heads. Save your money, get this, be happy!