Dunlavy SCIV - What amp are you using?

After having lived with the Dunlavy SC4s for nearly 17 years, I would have to give a pat on the back to No_regrets for his very apt column above. I simply could not have provided any better description of these extremely fine speakers. Some time ago, and for a period of about two years, I put the Dunlavys aside after a very talented friend had produced for me an excellent sounding dipole ribbon/driver hybrid pair of speakers. Then, one day I decided to reconnect the Dunlavys. I never switched them out again. Chalk it all up to clarity, coherency and convincing tonal balance. The spirit of John Dunlavy should have no regrets either about what the man created.

I had the Snell B Minor before upgrading to the SC-IVs, driven by CJ Premier 14 pre amp and first a CJ Premier 11 which is recently replaced by a CJ MF2500A as I find the solid state version overall more detailed and produces tighter bass, a trade off for the sweet mids and airy highs of the P11. NordOst Blue Heaven ICs and speaker cables.

Off topic but would a Von Schweikert VR6 sound better than the SC-IV for classic and Jazz?

Hello Drubin,

Although I have never had my Dunlavys placed on anything, I have read some threads in the past of others doing it and if I remember correctly....they had liked the results.

I have liked how mine sound in "my room" well enough to not try and deal with the hassel of it. These are very heavy speakers, I have hardwood floors, it would raise the level of the tweeter and so I'd have to also raise my listening chair to compensate, etc.

Of all the places that I have heard the Dunlavys, none of them had them placed on anything either.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Hello Opus88,

Thank you for the kind words. Although my Dunlavys have always kept the primary residence in my reference listening room, I have also tried other speakers from my other systems in this room. As good as they have been, none have eclipsed the Dunlavys. That is not to say there aren't better speakers out there than these beloved SCIV's, but only that I haven't had the pleasure of hearing any that I enjoy more than what I currently have.

One brand that has my curiousity, that I personally haven't heard yet is the Horning loudspeakers. I'm planning on hearing them this fall at the RMAF in Colorado.

By the way, Opus88, what amps have you enjoyed using with your Dunlavys?

Thanks again for your comments.

Hello Polyglot,

Thank you for sharing your choice of amplification with us in regards to the Dunlavy SCIV.

As to your question about the VR6....the best thing you can do is try to audition a pair and let your ears decide. What sounds great to "me" might not sound quite as appealing to "you" and vise versa. Our ears and how we each hear things are as individual and unique as the speakers that we are discussing.

But in another effort to try and answer your question. My catalog of source material consists of several hundred pristine vinyl albums and are split pretty evenly between classical and jazz. I feel the SCIV's excell with classical music....everything from solo and sonatas to the big full orchestral pieces as well as small combo jazz groups to the big band swinging of Duke and Basie. I have not found a speaker that does these types of music better in terms of getting the tone, micro and macro dynamics, soundstaging, etc better.

If the SCIV's fall short anywhere, I think it would be in the rock, or rap genre's....but for me, that really isn't "my" cup of tea anyhow.

I only heard one pair of Von Schwikert's and it was a long time ago, but was at a time while having my Dunlavys. I can't remember the model number, but it was their reference at that time. I didn't feel they were in the same league as the Dunlavys. That's not to say they havn't improved over the years.....I haven't listened to their offering since.

Give them a listen and let us know what you think.