DUNLAVY SC-VI


Hello everybody, I am considering a pair of SC-VI for a room build, and the room is 20'x20' with 9 foot ceiling on one end and a 6 foot at the back wall. I would like to get some feedback as to the size of the room for these speakers. Any responses would be appreciated..

Thanks !
alissatweaks

Showing 2 responses by pryso

A good friend had Duntech Princess (more similar to DAL SC-IV) in a 20x20 room with a 9' vaulted ceiling and they sounded fantastic.

HOWEVER, read any source on acoustic design and they all recommend against a square room (avoid standing wave reinforcement). I think my friend's room worked so well only because one end has a 6' wide opening into a smaller room plus an open door way leading to another room; in other words his room was not square acoustically.

I would suggest contacting Rives Audio or other acoustical designers to discuss your situation. And I will suggest that all Dunlavy designed speakers work best with placement well out from both the front and sidewalls. I would be more concerned with sidewall distance than distance between speakers (meaning 4-4.5' each side with 10-12' between speakers [centerline to centerline] in a 20' room). In my experience the 10-11 feet to the listening chair that Daverz suggested will be the minimal distance. Such tall speakers need distance for the drivers to converge, particularly time/phase coherent designs like the DAL.
OK, sounds like some options may still be open here so I'll jump in one more time.

Since you are/will be building the room, why square? If you are locked in to a foundation already constructed, look for ways to open the new room into an existing space to change the standing waves. Otherwise, if not too late, redesign the room.

Speaker choice -- I owned Duntech Princess speakers for 19 years and remain a big fan of John Dunlavy's designs. However, I never would have traded my Princess even up for a pair of Duntech Sovereigns for my 20' x 17' x 11' room. It is simply not large enough. I heard the DAL SC-VI only once, at the CES. But I also heard the Sovereigns in a multiple of rooms of various sizes. I would consider a room about 28' x 19' x 11' to be the minimum, AND I think the SC-VI may need something even larger to perform near their capability. With a room anywhere close to your stated 20 x 20 size I would look for Duntech Princess or DAL SC IV or IVA.

Good luck.