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How big a room for Dunlavy SC-V?

Thinking of potentially upgrading my speakers from Snell C/V. Dunlavy seems to be a similar design, at least looking at the shape of the box and the driver configurations. I've heard them in the past, and liked the sound. However, that was in a large room at a high end audio shop. I'm concerned I don't have the space to do them justice. The room is about 21 feet long, 12 to 14 feet wide, with two large open doorways I can't do anything about. I sit about 14 feet from the TV and front speakers. Are the Dunlavys just too big for the room? The rest of the sysem is Theta Carmen / IIIA DAC, Adcom GFP-750, Bryston 4B-NRB. It's a combo HT system with a Sunfire processor, more Bryston amps, and Snell speakers all around, with a Rel Storm-III sub. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks to everyone. -Dave
dbw1
bpwalsh
1,201 posts
 
Yes, the speakers are too big for the room and will overload it with bass. Dunlavys need large rooms to perform. I recommend finding a speaker that will give high performance but not require a large room. Line source dipoles are an example of that because they are much more free of room resonances than other speakers.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Certainly large speakers, but the room seems large enough to me. I heard them many years ago at a dealer in a smaller room and they sounded just fine. Too bad such a sensible manufacturer is now out of business.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
"Too bad such a sensible manufacturer is now out of business." Ahmen!
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
I've had speakers as big as those in similar sized rooms and it's not optimal but it's not bad either. Some bass traps that can dig deep, like Realtraps, helps a lot. The problem is the same with most speakers, getting away from the walls and far enough from each other, particularly when you're sitting 14' back. You also have to consider that, to realize their potential, extreme speakers require extreme amplification...
edle
235 posts
 
It is doable and need some hard work on your part in controlling the standing wave.
But if you can do that, it will be your last pair of speakers :-).
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