Attention: Dunlavy Audio Labs out of business

I would suspect that no-one will pick up the Dunlavy line. High end audio (for two channel or home theater) is a tough business in good times. In times like these, well--it's tougher.

For existing Dunlavy product owners, most of the drivers (if not all) are commercially available so you can keep your speakers as long as you like.

Who will pick up the void of time and phase coherent sealed boxes? James Thiel do you hear your name being called?

Dunlavy pro's and con's....................

Please note: I have sold almost every DAL model made,
and have had almost every DAL model in my own system.

Per customers and potential customers:
Too tall.
Too ugly.
Better fit & finish wanted on the standard finish models.
Set up an issue due to the need to be on the long wall (BIG issue).
Grills could be better.
SC-V & SC-VI packing was good, but a nightmare to deal with.

Per the people that sold them:
Terrible ads.
Terrible pics on the website (until recently).
Contradiction between John talking down about cables while
selling cables (although not incredibly expensive ones, but not cheap either).
HONEST SPECS (lot of BS in that area in this business...).

Positive comments (sellers and buyers):
Life like presentation.
Very easy to drive.
Great value.
Fantastic x-over design; similar specs from the SC-I to the SC-VI
(all frontward firing speakers were 91 db efficiency all downward
firing were 90, and specs were always a genuine +-1.5db!).

Anyone could visit the factory or call John.
John was ready to retire. He's been doing this a long time.
He could design, but marketing he never could figure out.
As I have said for years: "Designers should design, and sales people should sell".
Don't mix the two. He never could understand that.
Seemed to think people would buy the product simply because on
paper they could be proven to be the best. Well, that's not enough.

There are many die hard DAL fans out there, especially SC-VI owners.
Don;t be surprised if DAL returns. Will John return with it???????????

Twylie,
I can relate to the difference between Aerial and Dunleavy.
I've never met Michael Kelly in person but I used to sell his speakers and have logged perhaps 100 hours on the phone with him. He has a remarkable resume and doesn't talk about it. His focus is always on the products and the service.
I was given a tour of the Dunleavy factory in Colorado Springs by John himself in 1996 and the topic was him at all times. He had a trophy room and a wall full of press clippings from his days working for the government. A nice man but terribly self-absorbed. The factory, by the way, only had a handful of employees and was doing nothing the day I visited.
The passing of this, and other such companies, can best be viewed as a market correction. And we really don't need to lament their loss.
My friend Steven Stone has had Dunleavy VIs for years now and I've been impressed but never envious. They are too big and cumbersome for me. Back then I had Aerial 10Ts and I felt they were just as good for far less money and required far less adaptation to accomodate. But he loved those speakers and still uses them. That's what makes horse races.

Why do you want to return these speakers? Have they suddenly begun sounding bad? Doubtful. You can get aftermarket replacements should they be needed, and keep in mind that unless you abuse the blazes out of speakers, they tend to last a long time and operate trouble-free. You may want to rethink your initial reaction. Though I don't own any Dunlavy, I can tell you that the ones I've heard are most impressive. (In your situation I too would probably be aggravated but would most likely stand pat after cooling off.) They still will do a terrific job, as they tend to be indifferent to the fact that they company's out of business.