Help me set up my new (to me) Dunlavy V's

Where do you start? No Grasshopper. Where do you finish.

flutffers, I owned Duntech rather than DAL, but general recommendations remain the same.

First, Dunlavy's designs could be placed a little further apart than many others.  So for one suggestion an equilateral triangle with 10 to 12' to the prime listener seat.  In my experience he always spread his speakers wide apart for show demos.

Second, they should be out from the front wall and away from side walls by at least 3'.  I think smoothest bass response came with the front of my Duntechs about 5' out.  With your 17' room width that will be tight on the short wall but may work well.  I'd try 3.5' - 10' - 3.5' to centerlines there.  John usually recommended long wall placement (possibly to get the width he wanted in an average room?) but for me this can place the listener too close to the rear wall.

I had Princess model which was the older sibling to the IV, a 3-way with 5 drivers.  My manual gave specs recorded at 3 meters so I assumed that was the minimal distance required tor the driver array to focus at the listener's seat.  Depending on how far out your speakers are placed from the front wall this is where the listener seat to the rear wall can become an issue.

For toe-in I found aiming the speakers at a common point about 3' behind the prime listener spot gave the best balance of response and imaging.

As implied by miller however, feel free to experiment.  Every room is a little different.

Good luck and enjoy.

There's definitely differences between speakers, but very few in terms of the process in getting them set up, which basically boils down to trying lots of different setups and going with the one you feel is the best trade-off.

The method I learned that has worked well many times is a three step process. First try lots of widely varying locations. In your case since you have a lot of room to play with I would think of a fairly large rectangle area each speaker can go. Also at the same time there may be an area you could use for listening. Try lots of combinations that cover the range both speakers and sweet spot can be in.

This first step isn't as hard as it seems because all you are listening for is bass response and tone balance. So no careful positioning, and no spikes (easier to move), but do play music with a good midrange and bass.

Second step, measure to make sure the speakers are symmetrical and equidistant to the sweet spot. Then experiment with toe-in to find the right balance between image focus and spaciousness. The right balance being like everything else whatever you like.

Finally go back and measure again, only this time being very precise. In some rooms you can measure off the walls to the corners of the speakers. In others you can use a framing square and string. A level comes in handy to make sure the speakers are perfectly level, as otherwise what measures perfect at the base may be off at the tweeter. The difference between good solid imaging and amazing palpable presence can come down to tiny fractions of an inch. Hard to believe. Until you do it.

Then, you know what? You wind up right about where pryso said. Main difference being doing it this way you know, absolutely know, that is where they sound the best. There is no second-guessing. And if at some time down the road you think you might want something a little more this or a little less that, well you know which way to go and how likely it is to work (or not) because you did the hard work up front.

Hi,
as a user of SC-III, placement on the long wall is the starting point.
They favour and take advantage of all the width you can spare.
Space behind speaker should be greater from what on the sides and not equal if you want to avoid cancelations.
These are tall speakers and require a tall ceailing also. If cannot take advantage of long wall then your listening distance should be less than their opening. I found the most important are listening distance and spacing apart with toe in.  Otherwise prepare for some room treatment. Nice buy.

thks guys - So since these speakers will be behind my perforated movie screen which I now have to set back up- How much distance from tweeter to back wall should I have- Need to set screen back up but do not want to mount it and then realize I need to move the speakers out- Is 5 feet from tweeter to back wall enough??thks

Another question- I have a chance to pick up a set of III's for $1000- Not sure if there was a IIIA? I was thinking of using them for the rear speakers- Is that a good price and would they be good for rears- I have the Danley DTS-20 "Tower of Power " sub to handle the bass- as always thanks so much for the advice-

Set the speakers up for the best sound regardless of how far they are from the wall. Then wherever they are when the screen is up and you're watching movies you will adjust the delay to synchronize with the movie. 

Full range surrounds adds additional bass sources which is a serious advantage! I tried it and while I gave up on surrounds because of the poor quality of HT processors the full range surrounds did help with really good bass response. Now with DBA I have the best of both worlds.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367

fluffers, about the time I bought my Duntechs I developed a procedure for room placement.  That required taking measurements for smoothest (flattest) bass response as I moved the speakers out from the front wall 1" at a time.  Note my choice was to obtain the smoothest bass response, not finding the maximum output for a given frequency.  As they came out into the room the response curve smoothed out until it reached its best response, then began to deviate more if I moved them further.  That was a room dependent condition and was ultimately fine tuned down to the half-inch, so there is no absolute answer, only guidelines.

This is why miller's recommendation for experimentation is correct.

However I would question if this is a good speaker choice for placement behind a video screen?  I don't remember the precise distance but my Duntechs had the front baffle at least 4' out from the front wall.  Will it be practical to hang your screen somewhere between 4' and 6' out from the front wall?

Hi thks- yes I can actually mount the screen 7-8 feet if I had to and still have enough room to sit about 1.25 times the screen size- 
are the  Dunlavy III's a good choice for rear speakers if I am using a sub??

Hey- So I have been moving the Dunlavy V's around and almost have them right ( I think)- room is 17x28- I have them 3 1/2 feet from side wall- 10.5 apart and 5 feet to front wall- toed in so they are about facing each ear- 12 feet from chair- I get good pinpoint center imaging wide soundstage- But It still feels a little compressed-Not alot of Air- Pianos you can hear the attack but there is no decay on the notes-
Here is what I have at the moment- the speakers are off their bases as I am going to put them up on spikes so now they are on a wood floor over concrete-
I put RPG diffusers on the side walls
I have all Mcintosh equipment and am using Mogami Gold xlr interconnects and Duelund 12 guage wire for speaker wire for now-
So before I keep moving around these beasts I thought I would see what you gurus think I should do- Is it the cables?? remove the side panels etc- thanks so much for all the advice

Hi,
rooms are different but try a smaller toe in, just to see from your listening position half or so of their side panels.
Try a listening distance which is less than their opening, reduce the distance from the chair to 11-10ft and listen how it goes. If you stay at 12ft listening distance increase slightly their opening.
These speakers have lots of air and sound like no box at all when properly set up.