Duntech

They are among the classic cone driver designs. The older ones work better with solid state than tubes (I feel the opposite about Dunlavy designs), as they have a warm balance in the midrange and, in the case of the Sovereigns, need a lot of power to control their woofers or else they can sound slow and thick in the deep bass. You need a large room, as you have to sit back at least 10 feet to get them to blend all those drivers best. I would not call them outdated at all; they're well-designed, and are among the best speakers out there at conveying the soul of the music when properly set up and driven.

What do they cost today?

That price shows what a mark-up the distributor takes (although remember the customs duties as well as the shipping costs), as the last price I recall in the US for the Sovereigns was in the $20,000+ range, and the Princesses (which I bought for $7700 list in 1987) were over $11,000. Duntech made some new designs after John Dunlavy left--one, called the Prince (LOVE the name) looked like the Dynaudio Temptations and listed in the $15,000+ range, I believe, though factory direct they should be far less. Much less wide than the Sovereigns, as they used multiple 8 or 10 inch drivers instead of the bigger 12 inch bass drivers of the Sovereigns.

As a note, when Harry Pearson reviewed the Sovereigns for TAS in the late 80s/early 90s, he gave what the market perceived as a lukewarm review (liked certain things about them but felt the design needed to be updated which, as turned out, Dunlavy himself did with his SC-V), and a whole slew of Sovereigns turned up on the used market in the AudioMart publication shortly thereafter for as low as $4000. If you match them with the right amplifiers in the right room, they can be quite competitive with modern designs, and that price they'd be a steal.

You don't have to use the distributor..if you really want the Duntech's the company sells them to you directly..all you have to do is pay the shipment cost..I am in UK ;so the Sovereign would cost around 12 000 $ to me ..(if you think 2000$ for shipment).a great deal....