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Help with Dunlavy SC-IV signature

Hello to all. I friend recently gave me a pair of SC-IV as they were too big for his room and he did not like their sound. The speakers sounded very bright to me but I attributed that to the cheap surround sound receiver he was using. I expected them to sound way better on my gear. No such luck. I tried them with a Moon P5 and Ayre v3 and they made my ears bleed, same with aMusical Fidelity M6PRX and Pre. I finally put then on a Nakamichi CA7 and PA7 with the tone controls all the way back and they started to sound way better. My current speakers are Martin Logan Expression 13A and Von Schweikert VR4 Get III. I added a Behringer DEQ2496 and turned the mids and highs down 7db and now they sounded very good. I have had Vanderstein 5A, Magnepan 3.7i and Utopias among others and I have never encountered something this bad. It's as if an equalizer was turned all the way up in the mids and highs. I removed one of the crossovers and to the eye they look ok I would have to remove them and measure everything to know for sure. Has anyone run into this before ? should I rebuild the crossover to see if it will improve ? What other measurements should I take ? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

cerberus79
pwerahera
120 posts
 

@cerberus79 This is hard to believe, but I trust you have done your home work. Dunlavy speakers are anything but bright. May I ask you what kind of source material you used to find out these speakers sounded "bright"? Also, these are very efficient speakers with sensitivity of 92 dB. Have you tried this with a tube amp?

Before you try to work on the crossover or any other parts, I would try to see if the problem remains with a tube amp. They have first order crossovers and drivers are designed to handle "leakage." If the drivers are changed, that may explain this problem. Also try moving the speakers to short-wall if these are currently placed  along the long-wall. 

cerberus79 OP
52 posts
 

I used both Qobutz and CD sources. I played Jazz, Blues and Rock. The results were the same regardless of music or pre and amp. I have not tried tubes. My tube amp is a Cary 300SEI F1 and it only puts out 13 watts per channel.

petg60
1,486 posts
 

Dunlavys are 92db but were always better driven with good powerful solid state.

Requirement 100w in 4ohms min. Their resistance varies from 3-7,5ohms.

Needs too many tubes if going for good volume. 

 

pwerahera
120 posts
 

@petg60 I agree with you about running these with a good SS amp due to impedance dropping to around 3 Ohms. All of my auditions with these speakers were done with SS amps. I think "problem" is with the speaker, not his electronics up stream.

I have visited Dunlavy Labs here in Colorado Springs many years ago. They are no longer in business and John Dunlavy has passed away. May he Rest in Peace! His speakers are used as references for mastering among many other applications. I finally settled with Thiel speakers and I could have easily accepted Dunlavy speakers too. Both use first-order x-overs and true to the source material. 

May not be a bad idea to contact Duntech and find out if they have any suggestions.

cerberus79 OP
52 posts
 

It appears from my research that these speakers do not have a common crossover. The crossovers were voiced to the pair, with that in mind I am going to remove but not disassemble the crossover and make a schematic of it. I am also going to get some speaker analysis software and measure their output. It was suggested to me that a simple resistor change in the Mid and Tweeter section might solve the issue.

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