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Review: Dunlavy Audio Labs SC-IVa

Category: Speakers

When I decided seven years ago to upgrade my audio system, I started by finding a speaker I loved. I searched for almost a year listening to every speaker available in the Minneapolis area. I found Magnepan and MartinLogan to be stunning but too dry and fatiguing for my taste. The midrange was not as deep and rich as I was looking for. Wilson had great sound but beyond the budget I was hoping to stay in. B&W sounded thick and boomy to me and Meridian was electronic and artificial. Thiel, Audio Physics and Dunlavy became the finalists. Being a late ‘60s early ‘70s guy, I came from Marantz and MaIntosh electronics and JBL and Altec Lansing speakers. The size and depth of the sound of Dunlavy along with the exceptional midrange were the final factors in my choosing Dunlavy IV as the speaker I wanted. The problem was I could only afford the Dunlavy III, exceptional midrange but not the ultimate bottom end of the IV.
It was about two years after buying the III's that I had the opportunity to upgrade to the IV's. It turned out that over those two years Dunlavy had improved the IV's and had a new model, IVa. They amazed me to find the IVa was even richer and deeper than the old IV model. The Dunlavy IVa speaker consists of two 10" woofers, two 5" mids and one 1" composite textile dome tweeter. Frequency response is 25Hz to 20 kHz, and Sensitivity is 91 dB with an Impedance of 5 ohms. Size is 72" high, 15" deep and 12" wide with a weigh of 190 lbs. each. $8495/pr
I believe Dunlavy speakers have no rivals within their price category. John Dunlavy is obsessed with designing the most accurate reproductions of sound. To meet this stringent standard Dunlavy has built one of the worlds best-equipped laboratories in order to test his designs. This has lead to some very harsh discussions between John Atkinson of Stereophile and John Dunlavy. It seems that JA does not like being out engineered by one of the great loudspeaker designers and the result was punishing JD by putting the once Stereophile "product of the year" Class A component into their B class after Dunlavy improved the speaker to JA's recommendation. Despite the politics of Stereophile Magazine, this speaker will hold its own with speakers two and three times its cost.
The highs are clear, grain less and extremely extended. JA spoke of them appearing a bit forward but I have never felt that was the case with this speaker, and can hardly believe a comment like that when compared with some of Stereophiles favorites MartinLogan and Meridian. Comments like these only strengthen my lack of trust for this Magazine. The midrange on all Dunlavy speakers is amazingly magical. I have not tried any other speaker that is as pure and life like with the female voice than Dunlavy. They display all the color and texture of the midrange with a crispness and transparency. Bass has long been the contention point of the IV series. The fact that they rate them at 25Hz meaning that it cuts off one organ pedal is hardly an issue for me. On the double bass, even the lowest note is crisply defined with no bloating or smear. The famous subway as heard on Water Lilly Acoustics "Natures Realm" with the Philadelphia Orchestra is deep under my floor forward and to the right. On Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" the foot pounding on the stage is as if he were in my livingroom pounding on my floor. I have no lack for bass from my speakers, in fact any more might be too much. Sound stage is wide and very deep. Excellent transient speeds, superb impact yet with an effortless smoothness. I truly believe these are the best speakers I can afford and is very much at home in my system. They have never left me lacking or longing for something better. That says a lot for a guy who is always looking for more, but never from my speakers. These are simply great speakers, and their service is exceptional as I found out with my III's, I twice had drivers replaced although it turned out the speakers had nothing to do with the problems I was having.


Associated gear
Sony SCD-1 SACD player
Placette active pre-amp
Plinius SA-102 amps
Nordost Valhalla speaker cable
Nordost Valhalla and NBS Statement interconnects
NBS Statement power cords
Hydra power conditioner

Similar products
Thiel CS7 series
Audio Physic Virgo
Wilson Watt/puppy
128x128jadem6
jadem6's avatar
jadem6 OP
1,074 posts
 
Dave b
If I read this right you have owned B&W 801N's, Wilson Watt/Puppy 6's, ML Prodigy's, Totem Forests and Winds since owning the Dunlavy’s for years. Something sounds funny here. Then you tell me you used a Krell to mate with the Dunlavy and Audio Research pre-amp. If that is true it must have been one hideous sounding system. I can not imagine a poorer match (Krell and AR), well given that you preferred the Wilson’s and B&W’s, I guess I understand. The final proof I needed to understand what your issues are, was your comment, “. Imaging was the biggest problem with the massive point source Dunlavy's...nothing beyond the sides and the comb filter effect of their own boxes limited the holography found in most of the other speakers I've owned.”. This is proof positive you have either never owned Dunlavy or you had them set up improperly. Either way I do not really care, I now understand where your comments come from, and I wish you luck finding what ever it is you’re looking for.
Daytrader, I didn’t expect you had anything else to offer.
J.D.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
I'm not sure what your problem is daytrader, but I have the bills for all the above mentioned gear..actually only a small bit of what I've owned over the years. My dealers were soundex..(the owner is my friend) and Surround sounds exton, pa. If you have had a chance to own said gear yourself, then maybe you have a bit of understanding regarding the dunlavy's sound. Most reviews of the dunlavy's at the time mention the lack of lateral imaging. When you hear a truly uncolored and refined speaker system you understand the difference. That being said, I liked the dunlavy's alot while I had them, they were big, bold and full of life...exciting sounding! I have a good time playing around with different equipment...it's my hobby! Sometimes the synergy get's one closer to the music...other times not! The krell/ARC combo was actually quite thrilling..one of the most musical pairings I've heard! Perhaps your feelings are hurt for some reason? I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings...or was it all the gear I got to explore instead of just read about!!
cmpromo
64 posts
 
"Honky midrange coloration?" I dont know about the rest of you guys, but I just hate it when my Dunlavy's start honkin
jadem6's avatar
jadem6 OP
1,074 posts
 
I've been testing different geese on the top of my speakers to see if they can help focus the honking. I tried some plastic decoys, but they tended to flatten the honk. I tried some wonderful rubber toy geese, but they made the honky bass to fat. I tried to contact a taxidermist, but he only had one goose, so I passed. I bought some wonderful Gund stuffed plush geese, but I felt they rolled off the top end of the honk. Then I found the perfect solution. two live Canadian geese caught at a local golf course. I leash them to the isolation bearings under my honk'n speakers without the factory bases. these buggers are amazing. they are able to mimic the honk perfectly. So life like! I may get rid of the Dunlavys and simply plug the speaker cables into the goose end. thank gosh David and his friends brought this honking to our attention, without his help I doubt i would have ever tried live goose horns!
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Try stacking several geese in a D'appageeso array...smallest goose in the center, working your way out on either side with larger geese. Don't forget the felt around the box edges to aim the resultant HONK straight at your head...sounds best that way!!
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