Dunlavy SC IV Speaker- Any Good???

 

 

I do not want to say a Dunlavy speaker can not produce great sound.

I am sure it can. The setup sucked.

My latest tangent-yes I recognize my OCD behavior- is starting to learn

how to build a custom 3 way using the best speakers I can get my hands on.

Well, within reason.

More to follow as this progresses.

I like the idea of confidence, but realistically the Dunning-Kruger thing is real.

So the idea that OCD is a viable replacement for years of expertise seems questionable.

@chorus you know that that Dunlavy is one of the best measuring speakers of all time right?

I’ll put money on a bet that this is not likely going to end up as a magical replacement for Dunlavy.

chorus, as always with purchases the choice is up to you.  But please consider these two points.

#1, I can't imagine ANY Sony receiver producing the potential sonics of that speaker.  During the 19 years with my Duntech Princess I tried several well-regarded amps, but with mixed reactions.  After a few trials I settled on a pair of VTL 300 mono amps with KT-90 outputs.  During that period I had the chance to audition a passive bi-amping set up with the 300s driving the woofers and a pair of VTL 225 mono amps on the mids and tweeters.  The overall presentation, with dynamics, soundstaging, bass impact, etc, was almost unbelievable.  Unfortunately four amps and 32 output tubes was not a reasonable answer for me.  But then a pair of Parasound JC-1 mono amps was my final solution.  That provided up to 800 watts into the 4 ohm load, what did that Sony have?

#2, John Dunlavy was a very bright designer.  I hope you read the Stereophile interview posted above.  Is it reasonable to assume any of us without close to his background could near-equal his designs with home built speakers? 

Anyway, good luck to you in finding your answer.

I owned a pair of SC-IVs for almost five years before replacing them with Revel Ultima Studios.  At the time, the swap was driven mainly by a complete speaker “solution” offered by Revel, as I was converting a listening room into a home theater. Sonically, the performances of the two speakers were very close and both quite satisfying. 
 

I would take to heart the warning others have made about the likely age of the SC-IVs. Over time, certain mechanical and electrical aspects of a speaker can degrade, making their perfect repair a real nightmare.

I went to hear these locally over 20 years ago when I was out on a speaker search. 
They were properly set up in a nice size room and driven by either plinius, Levinson or Krell…one of those I can’t remember exactly. I do remember though that I was not impressed especially with the bass they produced for that size speaker.
I walked away and delisted them.  
At this point in 2022 they’re way too old. 
just my $0.02

Unless you are willing to drop multi thousands more on something new, that would be a heck of a get.  And if doesn't work, it wont be because the speakers.  You'd be able to sell then quickly.