I have had the Dunlavy SC-IV in my listening room after VonSchweikert VR4 originals (after they went out of business I traded to the Dunlavy's). They were a little lean sounding in my room(19 x 17.5). My wife objected to the size and then I went to Proac 3.8's which sounded very musical, but did not give the illusion of live performers in my room so I sold them. I next auditioned the Aletha, Meadowlark Heron i, the SC-IVa, B&W N802, Vanderstein 3A signatures and the Genesis 500. The Aletha sounded more natural than the SC-IVa, particularly at low volumes and a talk w/Dunlavy convinced me that the downfiring 10" woofer was actually easier to integrate into a normal untreated room than the SC-IVa probably due to possible interactions caused by the woofer/floor and woofer/ceiling distances resulting in some bass frequency cancellations. The Meadowlarks weren't bad,but sometimes sounded odd at the transition from bass to midrange. My second favorite in the comparison was the Genesis. Paradoxically, to what I thought, they were very coherent despite a complex driver array. I was also uneasy about the company's financial status and replacement drivers. Whereas the Dunlavy may not use exotic drivers, they are readily available. I have recently heard the Silverline LaFolias in my room and they have a very nice presentation. I do not think they are as neutral sounding as the Dunlavy's, but they have some other strengths. To summarize, once you hear a time aligned coherent loudspeaker, all others sound like speakers and do not complete the illusion of performers in your room (for intimate studio recording) or transporting you to the space in which the recording was made (if large scale orchestral work). Furthermore, once you hear non resonant acoustic suspension without a port tuned to a specific frequency, it is hard not to hear the tuning of a port in such a design. The trade off usually is lower efficiency of acoustic suspension designs which I don't know how Dunlavy overcame (his design is reported 91 dB efficient).
My system: Millenium Signature tubed preamp (no longer made but previously imported by Fanfare International)
Electrocompaniet EMC 1 with 24/192 upgrade
Plinius SA250 MK IV
Plinius Jarrah phono stage
VPI Scout w/ JMW 9 arm and Clearaudio Sigma cartridge
Siltech FTM 4 SG G3 and FTM 4 Gold or Acoustic Zen Silver Reference Mk II or Nordost Valhalla intercon.
Purist Audio Collosus Biwire speaker wire
Top Gun, Top Gun special, and Top Gun HCFi cords into a Top Gun Super Power Block.
Dedicated 15 amp source, and 20 amp amplifier circuits with either Wattagate or PS audio Powerport receptacles
No added room treatments allowed (wife), but in a "normal" room with a wood cabinet wall system on one side and 2 large windows with pulled back curtains flanking a fireplace on the other side, none is currently required.
My system: Millenium Signature tubed preamp (no longer made but previously imported by Fanfare International)
Electrocompaniet EMC 1 with 24/192 upgrade
Plinius SA250 MK IV
Plinius Jarrah phono stage
VPI Scout w/ JMW 9 arm and Clearaudio Sigma cartridge
Siltech FTM 4 SG G3 and FTM 4 Gold or Acoustic Zen Silver Reference Mk II or Nordost Valhalla intercon.
Purist Audio Collosus Biwire speaker wire
Top Gun, Top Gun special, and Top Gun HCFi cords into a Top Gun Super Power Block.
Dedicated 15 amp source, and 20 amp amplifier circuits with either Wattagate or PS audio Powerport receptacles
No added room treatments allowed (wife), but in a "normal" room with a wood cabinet wall system on one side and 2 large windows with pulled back curtains flanking a fireplace on the other side, none is currently required.