Dunlavy Speakers

[dfuller]

Not Simon Heyworth by any chance (Super Audio Mastering)?

No, Jonathan Wyner (M-Works Mastering).

 

[DSJR]

No, Jonathan Wyner (M-Works Mastering).

Ah okay... SAM uses big old TDL's but has some tall Dunlavy's too which showed up in pics I've seen (he remastered many of the King Crimson repertoire with Robert Fripp himself in attendance. They're mentioned in the gear list - Hope all those speakers playing (or not) together aren't always set up this way...

Online Mastering - Super Audio Mastering | World Class Services

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www.superaudiomastering.com

 

[Brent71]

No, Jonathan Wyner (M-Works Mastering).

He's had them listed for sale on USAM for a few months. What's odd is that he just raised the price from $5000 to $6000 in the past week. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650001114-dunlavy-sc-v-with-spare-drivers/

 

[Brent71]

Thoughts? Feelings? Measurements?

I've never listened to a pair of SC-II, but I own III, IV and V. The IIIs I ran with a pair of B&W ASW600 subs because I felt they were a little lacking in the bottom couple octaves. You could get by fine with a single 10" sub, but I prefered two in stereo mode. I don't like thumping bass, so 2 subs wasn't for that reason. Compared to the IIIs the IIs are about 7" shorter, 1" narrower and 2" shallower, nearly 33% smaller volume, a fairly big difference which will affect bass extension. I think they're rated 55 Hz to 20 kHz, +/- 1.5 dB.

 

[Noego]

Anybody know anything about these? A mastering engineer friend swears by them (I think he uses SC-Vs), but I can't say I've ever heard them. What's their claim to fame?

I love the SCV's for mastering yes. Have to move soon though so I have to let them go

 

[Noego]

Ah okay... SAM uses big old TDL's but has some tall Dunlavy's too which showed up in pics I've seen (he remastered many of the King Crimson repertoire with Robert Fripp himself in attendance. They're mentioned in the gear list - Hope all those speakers playing (or not) together aren't always set up this way...

Online Mastering - Super Audio Mastering | World Class Services

Choose the mastering package that best fits your budget, prices starting at £40 per track (excl VAT). World class studio, engineers and services await. Get in touch.

www.superaudiomastering.com

They are actually 330 Ibs each I believe with stand which mine do, 300 without according to spec. This add says 250. They do present beautiful though in a tuned room. I don't need a sub. I use them for final mastering and of course impressing clients on playback. I also have the spare mids. I have to downsize because Im retiring and have to move to a smaller place so I won't be able to keep them sad to say. . Hoping someone local may be interested. I. On Vancouver Island. Canada. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Lou.

 

[PatentLawyer]

Built by the same guy who designed Duntech speakers, I think. I had a very serious interest in buying a pair of SC IV's which became Stereophile's Speaker of the Year in 1994, so I went to Underground Sound in Memphis and auditioned them. They were in the same room with Aerial Acoustic 10t's which I had never heard of at the time and two Avalon speakers which were their top of the line, and next one down. To keep it short, the Dunlavy's were the worst speaker in the room, the top of the line Avalon's were the best, and then the next in line Avalon's and the Aerials sounded nearly identical to my ears. I later saw Stereophile's measurements for both speakers, and, guess what, they measured very nearly identically as well.

Anyway, the Aerials sounded killer. I bought them in early 1995, and they wound up being reviewed by Wes Phillips later that year and became Stereophile's Speaker of the Year. I kept them from 1995 to 2011, and thought they were terrific. Hearing the Dunlavy's next to them made me realize the whole "time coherent-linear phase-first order crossovers" thing was way overrated.

BTW, to not do them a disservice, the SC IV's did sound really good, it was just that the other three speakers sounded so much better.

Weren't the Avalons of that era designed by Charley Hansen (RIP)? If so, I would have through that they'd be time coherent-linear phase-first order etc. Would be interested in the crossover topology if you remember.

 

[cavedriver]

They are actually 330 Ibs each I believe with stand which mine do, 300 without according to spec. This add says 250. They do present beautiful though in a tuned room. I don't need a sub. I use them for final mastering and of course impressing clients on playback. I also have the spare mids. I have to downsize because Im retiring and have to move to a smaller place so I won't be able to keep them sad to say. . Hoping someone local may be interested. I. On Vancouver Island. Canada. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Lou.

geez, why is it every time a speaker I want comes up for sale it's clear across the continent or overseas?? ugh!

 

[norman bates]

I know here, big time/phase aligned isn't a big deal, but I think it is.

Good luck.
Hope the next owner will cherish them.

 

[Brent71]

Built by the same guy who designed Duntech speakers, I think. I had a very serious interest in buying a pair of SC IV's which became Stereophile's Speaker of the Year in 1994, so I went to Underground Sound in Memphis and auditioned them. They were in the same room with Aerial Acoustic 10t's which I had never heard of at the time and two Avalon speakers which were their top of the line, and next one down. To keep it short, the Dunlavy's were the worst speaker in the room, the top of the line Avalon's were the best, and then the next in line Avalon's and the Aerials sounded nearly identical to my ears. I later saw Stereophile's measurements for both speakers, and, guess what, they measured very nearly identically as well.

Anyway, the Aerials sounded killer. I bought them in early 1995, and they wound up being reviewed by Wes Phillips later that year and became Stereophile's Speaker of the Year. I kept them from 1995 to 2011, and thought they were terrific. Hearing the Dunlavy's next to them made me realize the whole "time coherent-linear phase-first order crossovers" thing was way overrated.

BTW, to not do them a disservice, the SC IV's did sound really good, it was just that the other three speakers sounded so much better.

Maybe the other speakers sounded "better" to you because you prefer a sound that's slightly colored. ‍ Dunlavy speakers can expose every flaw in recordings; they don't make recordings sound "good." To this day there are no other passive speakers that measure as accurate as Dunlavy designs. "Better" is subjective, but accuracy is objective and can be measured, and the measurements that John Dunlavy and team, and Stereophile performed, prove they were the most accurate speakers built. Obviously most people seem to prefer speakers that have their own sound-character, not absolute accuracy.

Aeriel 10T

Dunlavy SC-IV (early):

After about a year John Dunlavy revised the SC-IV with new tweeters, new woofers, tweaked crossovers, better cabinet bracing, and new binding posts, so the measurements were even better than those shown here. The lated-SC-IV, SC-IV/A, SC-V and SC-VI are all even more accurate than the measurements of the early SC-IV.

 

[ahofer]

Maybe the comparisons were not level-matched.

 

[Brent71]

Maybe the comparisons were not level-matched.

I'm sure they weren't, and being in physically different spots in the room is going to make them sound different, even if they were level-matched.

I did a little Google dive for Stereophile review measurements of a few different Avalon speakers, and none of them measure very accurate either, with frequency response irregularities, and mediocre impulse response.

 

[ahofer]

I'm sure they weren't, and being in physically different spots in the room is going to make them sound different, even if they were level-matched.

I did a little Google dive for Stereophile review measurements of a few different Avalon speakers, and none of them measure very accurate either, with frequency response irregularities, and mediocre impulse response.

It’s almost as if standard showroom demos are a seriously flawed way to judge equipment.

 

[Brent71]

It’s almost as if standard showroom demos are a seriously flawed way to judge equipment.

Definitely. It's been shown when you're switching between multiple pairs of speakers that the loudest and brightest will be perceived as the best sounding.

 

[Mhamilton1992]

It’s good to see this discussion on the SC-V. I’m not saying they are perfect, but they keep delivering. After doing room treatments, I don’t find any significant fault in the speakers. I run with Benchmark electronics which are also no B.S. with impeccable specs.

 

[VPN]

Has anyone mapped the crossover of the SC-V? Does anyone know the crossover points of the SC-V?

I have a highly modded pair of Dunlavy SC-VI, and the crossover frequencies (original, I didn't change the circuit) are aproximately 70Hz, 1Khz, 2Khz. So the two 8" drivers operate from 70hz (and even lower) up to 1Khz, quite different from an SC-IVa for example. I had a pair of SC-V before, and I am curious about the SC-V crossover frequencies.

My system:

VPN's System - Totaldac, CH Precision, Taiko, Dunlavy | Virtual Listening Room

vn101606's listening room featuring Taiko Router, Switch, and DC power distributor , Taiko Extreme 8TB with USB card, Intona Ultimate 1.5m USB cable, Totaldac Sublime Reclocker, Transparent Reference XL AES-EBU cable, Echole Limited Edition AES-EBU Model 2 interconnects, Totaldac Sublime DAC...

www.audiogon.com

 

[Brent71]

I haven't, but I could take some pics of one of the crossovers for you if that would help. I've looked at them before and some of the component values were hard/impossible to see because of how they're mounted. I have two pairs, 117-A/B and 192-A/B. Pair 192 are in position so I'd rather not move them, but I can get to the crossovers of 117 pretty easily. Pair 117 has Vifa dome mids, pair 192 has Vifa cone mids; from what I can figure JD changed somewhere between 150-175.

 

[VPN]

I haven't, but I could take some pics of one of the crossovers for you if that would help. I've looked at them before and some of the component values were hard/impossible to see because of how they're mounted. I have two pairs, 117-A/B and 192-A/B. Pair 192 are in position so I'd rather not move them, but I can get to the crossovers of 117 pretty easily. Pair 117 has Vifa dome mids, pair 192 has Vifa cone mids; from what I can figure JD changed somewhere between 150-175.

Dear Brent71:

Did you compare and notice a difference in the sound of the SC-V with dome mids vs cone mids? Which one did you prefer?

Do you know the brand and model number of the dome mid? According to Madisound the cone mid was Vifa M10MD39-08 (4 inches).

Do you know the brand and model of the mid-bass driver?

Any pictures you could share, and component values, could help.

Thanks.

 

[Brent71]

I've never been able to compare apples to apples; the 1st pair arrived with the mids and tweeters all dead, no idea why; no smell of burnt voice coils, but all measured open. I ordered replacement drivers from Madisound (Vifa D75MX-41-08 and ScanSpeak D2606/9220), The original drivers were Vifa D75MX-31-08 and Vifa D27TG35-06, but because of Vifa, ScanSpeak, Peerless, Tymphany ownership changes, part numbers have been revised or changed. I installed the replacement drivers, and the speakers sounded great.

About 1-1/2 years later a 2nd pair came up for sale, unmolested, so I bought them. I moved the 1st pair out of the way and put the 2nd pair in the same spots, and was surprised at how close they sounded. The first pair with dome mids seemed to be a little less forgiving about head movement, but who's to say if that's the difference of dome vs cone, or the drivers in the 1st pair being replacements that aren't perfectly matched like they left the factory.

The Vifa M10MD39-08 is a 3" cone, not sure why some websites say 4"; edge to edge of surround it's 3", edge to edge of the frame is 4". The 6.5" mid-bass is Vifa P17WJ00-08. The 12" woofers are Vifa M30WO-49-08.

 

[VPN]

I've never been able to compare apples to apples; the 1st pair arrived with the mids and tweeters all dead, no idea why; no smell of burnt voice coils, but all measured open. I ordered replacement drivers from Madisound (Vifa D75MX-41-08 and ScanSpeak D2606/9220), The original drivers were Vifa D75MX-31-08 and Vifa D27TG35-06, but because of Vifa, ScanSpeak, Peerless, Tymphany ownership changes, part numbers have been revised or changed. I installed the replacement drivers, and the speakers sounded great.

About 1-1/2 years later a 2nd pair came up for sale, unmolested, so I bought them. I moved the 1st pair out of the way and put the 2nd pair in the same spots, and was surprised at how close they sounded. The first pair with dome mids seemed to be a little less forgiving about head movement, but who's to say if that's the difference of dome vs cone, or the drivers in the 1st pair being replacements that aren't perfectly matched like they left the factory.

The Vifa M10MD39-08 is a 3" cone, not sure why some websites say 4"; edge to edge of surround it's 3", edge to edge of the frame is 4". The 6.5" mid-bass is Vifa P17WJ00-08. The 12" woofers are Vifa M30WO-49-08.

Brent71:

Thank you for the information you shared! Last year I purchased four replacement drivers for the four 8" drivers of my Dunlavy SC-VI. The new version of the drivers, recommended by Madisound, was supposedly the same, just with a higher BL, higher efficiency. I had them measured before installing, and they all came with a higher moving mass than the specs and lower efficiency. I replaced and the speaker did not sound as good as before. So I had the original drivers measured, and they all were better than the old specs, and better than the new specs, all with lower moving mass. So I put them back in the speakers after a cleanup by an specialist, and they sound great. So what I take is that Dunlavy probably purchased lots of drivers and selected only the best for the speakers.

So, my suggestion regarding the first SC-V that you purchased, if you still have the original drivers that don't work, find a specialist that can fix and clean the original drivers, and then put the original drivers back in the SC-V.