Dunlavy Audio Labs SC-IV

I have almost every model speaker that John Dunlavy designed in his illustrious (albeit short) career. I have gone to lots of high-end shows and been invited to countless shop demos. There's a tremendous amount of amazing gear in the marketplace today, but I don't believe you can do better than the SC-IV at it's used price point. Over the years, I have replaced a few of the mid-range drivers with units from Madisound. Installation is a snap and gives the opportunity to apply a silver contact enhancer which makes it sound better than new.

I have friends who insist on spending tens of thousands for the 'speaker-of-the-year'. They then come over and leave shaking their heads.

Having said that ,though, it is important to 'tweak' the system to include spikes or something like 'StillPoints' under the speakers to maximize performance and spend the time to get them placed correctly in the room. Good electronics and cables are likewise important. In fact, as you live with the speakers you'll be amazed at how revealing each upgrade will be.

Good luck and good listening!

Thanks everyone...What is a fair price in today's market, for a pair advertised in mint condition?

Seadweller, taking facts that they're not in business anymore, you'll still get stellar deal and save much more even after possible neccessity to replace drivers which are not pricey at all.
Already almost decade ago, once Dunlavy line decommissioned, they drop down the price drastically and your model could've been purchased for $4000. Now it's at or near half-way down i.e. @~$2k and worth worth worth every penny.

Yes, changing out a driver with a new replacement is a task most should be up to. Just pay attention to the wiring (taking a photo of the original may help) so you don't reverse phase.

As mentioned earlier, I'm not as familiar with DAL as Duntech models but I believe John not only tested individual drivers, he then tailored crossovers to match desired response for each speaker. I'm told Duntech keeps records of manufacturer so that a similar driver (spec-wise) can be supplied for replacement. I don't know if that practice was continued with DAL or not.

A few comments regarding set up if you do buy a pair. I believe use of spikes is room dependent and that relates to suspension VS solid floor, construction material, and floor coverings. Next, my Princess manual specified a 3 meter distance for listening to allow the five drivers to converge properly. A 10' equilateral triangle set up can work nicely. However, distance from sidewalls in important and should be a minimum of 3', more is better. Lastly I understand the DAL models may have been a bit easier to drive than similar Duntechs. My Princesses were rated at 90 dB but John suggested a minimum of 200 wpc "for musical enjoyment". ;^)

Good luck. I too believe all of Dunlavy's designs (Duntech and DAL) hold up very well and can offer great bargains in today's market.

I picked up a pair of the SC-IVs a couple of years ago for $2,500.00 which were not only functionally perfect but also without any visual flaws. I passed on a couple of lower priced sets that were around $2K. I've always felt that if gear looks like it's been cared for there's a better chance that it's in good shape sonically as well.

As a side note, I use the SC-IVs as the main channels in our high-end Home Theater room and use the SC-Vs as the choice for our reference 2 channel set-up. With the SC-Vs I have also incorporated the larger Dunlavy Sub (very rare) that incorporates four 10" drivers into an SC-IV size enclosure. Needless to say, the system is capable of moving some serious air in that room.