John Dunlavy liked: Rowland, Edge and Spectron.
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I used to own the Duntech Marquis which had similarities with the SC IV. (Duntech was Dunlavys original company
) I drove them with a vintage McIntosh MC7270 (2x270watts). I would also recommend the MC2255 (2x255w) as an excellent high power vintage amp. Both can be had in the $1,500 to $2,000 range.
Good luck
Tony
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trin, I have Duntech Princess, the older sibling to your DAL SC-IV. After trying many amps over the years, the best match I've found is the Halo JC-1 monoblocs. Unfortunately they are way above your budget, even used.
Your speakers will be revealing so I offer two cautions. In spite of their rated efficiency, they will benefit from higher power. I would begin with 100 wpc with tube or 150 wpc SS as a minimum. Also, many SS amps will be revealed for their brightness, edge, and/or harshness.
A few specific amps I think do well are VTL 225 and Cary SLM 100 for tubes or RE Designs and Classe for SS. Certainly quality amps from ARC, conrad-johnson, McIntosh, etc., (no personal experience) would also be candidates. |
T, Dunlavys are a very high efficiency design. You will be pleasantly suprised how well the old Marantz amps will do. You will however need a subwoofer, set at 60hz, maybe higher. Use the amp budget for that. |
Other options to consider are some of the older Nelson Pass class A amps. I ran Pass Labs Aleph 2s with 4As (I ran across info in a couple places that those amps were used during the speaker voicing process). It was a good match.
In addition to his products at Threshold and Pass Labs, Mr Pass has designed class A amps for other Brands; Nakamichi, Forte, and I think some others.
TD |
I read a review that used a pair of Pass Laboratories 300W Aleph 1.2's to drive Dunlavy's. I think these will be way out of your budget range even as old as they are and used. I second the Pass Labs suggestion though (as a less harsh or unforgiving sound compared to the Bryston). Personally I don't have a problem with Bryston but some do - to my tin ears it sound correct even if unforgiving. |
I've heard Dunlavy SC-IV's run with some fairly high powered Pass Aleph mono's and was underwhelmed. I heard those very same speakers sound better with some B&K M200's, different Pre though. Though the Dunlavy's are indeed efficient, I was amazed at the improvement that 4 matched B&K M200's made over using just 2. But, that maybe just personal preference. |
The speakers I finally am going to endup with are the sc 1v-a's.
What do folks think of the mcintosh solid state amps.
252
352 strongly considering
402.
others?
Also still thinking about the 4bsst.
anybody have experience with any of these combos? |
I have owned the Dunlavy SCIV's for many years now and they are very efficient with a very flat and stable impedance curve which tubes love. I primarily use a Bel Canto SET40 Single Ended 845 Triode amp which gives 35 watts RMS and 70 watts peak. This works wonderfully. You get the full instrumental harmonics, plenty of dynamic swing, and awesome sound staging. Absolutely NO NEED FOR SUBWOOFERS. I also use a custom buildt EL84 amp that puts out 15 powerful watts and does a fantastic job. As long as you use an amplifier of great design quality and above flea power wattage you will be fine......depending on the room size you will be using them in, of course. The larger the room, the more power you will need. I have used these speakers for about a dozen years now and have no plans on replacing them. As mentioned above, they are very revealing and will expose everything upstream, so system synergy is very key but also very rewarding. Best of luck.
Don |
Trinculo, like Pryso, I have a pair of the Duntech Princess speakers that were made by John Dunlavy in Australia and I am driving them also with a pair of JC-1 monos. Years ago I was using a Rowland Model 5 ss amp to drive them. It was some of the best sound that I ever had and sometimes I wish that I had never traded it. You probably can buy one used within your budget. I recommend that it is worth trying to find one.
Carter |
I'm looking at this thread as an old Duntech Princess owner who seriously considered Dunlavy's and listened to them a lot. My general observation is that Duntechs sounded better with solid state amplification (it controlled the woofers better, and the older Duntechs had a slightly warmer tonal balance than the Dunlavys--Rowland stuff in particular and some of the Krell Class A amps were a beautiful match with them), and Dunlavys sounded better with tubed amplification (I heard them with VTL, ARC and VAC amplification, among others--the slight warmth of the tubes made them a little more listenable). However, you implied in the start of the thread that you wanted to use the Dunlavys for mastering; for that purpose the Bryston or Mac amps might be a better choice, even though, as Shadorne aptly pointed out, they might sound a little unforgiving. For pleasure, I wouldn't necessarily choose them, but they put out a lot of clean, undistorted power that would certainly suit a mastering studio application. |
Absolutely no need for subwoofer(s) unless you like bass. The SCIVs go down to about 70hz then begin to roll off. Low powered tube amps would be a great match. But YOU WILL NEED A SUB. |
I had a pair of sc3's and ran them successfully with cary slam 100's (90 watts trode) with excellant results. |
I used Dulavys for 10 years with a Krell FPB 600 starting with the IVs and ending up with the Vs. They worked well with the Krell and a BAT VK51se though occasionally this combination got a little bright. My wife could no longer tolerate the size and appearance of the Vs and I have such switched to the Vandersteen 5A which also uses a first order crossover and I love them as well. I do miss the Dunlavys though. Great speakers, great price, great company, and a one of a kind designer who will be sorely missed. |
Mr. T
I'm using a pair of SCIII as my main speakers, LOVE 'em! I used to power them with a 60W Pass Aelph but have since switched to a Levinson. I think the Dunlavy's although efficient, need reserve power. They sould much better with the 300W Levinsons. I think the 4B would be a great choice! |
