Epi/Epicure M1000 vs. Duntech Sovereign

The Duntech Sovereign does not use foam surrounds and mine have not required any maintenance except periodic cleaning since new. If you have not gone through Epi 1000 restoration, you do not have a clue as to the expense and hassle you are buying into.

Any dealer who would call the Sovereigns or any John Dunlavy design as a "one hit wonder" would discredit their opinion on any audio subject for me.

I owned Duntech Princess (next model down from the Sovereigns) for 19 years.  During that time I auditioned several Duntech and DAL speakers, including the Sovereigns.  In my opinion all were rewardingly musical.  I also had the chance to chat with John Dunlavy a few times and do believe he was among the most knowledgable and respected among speaker designers.  Reading reviews of Duntech and DAL, all were positive in their recommendations other than the Stereophile review of the DAL SC-IV where they felt it should have more extended bass given the dual woofers and cabinet size.  John responded to that with the introduction of the SC-IVA which Stereophile then added to their Recommended Components list.

Also, Robert Ludwig, one of the most acclaimed mastering engineers in recent decades, utilized Duntech Sovereigns for his primary mastering work for several years.

One hit indeed!!!

Thanks guys for your replies. Greatly appreciated.  I've never heard either of John Dunlavy's designs.  I am glad I went through the total restoration of the Epi 1000.  Very rewarding in the end though a lot of work.  The surrounds too are butyl and not foam.  I am glad that I never had to tackle any sort of crossover that I'm sure the Duntech/Dunlavy SCV would have. I would imagine they are very complex.
They are still on my radar and have been for some time.  Just had the opportunity to pick up and restore these vintage giants and the result is rather shocking to be truthful but, again, I've never heard the Dunlavy design which are rarer than hen's teeth here.
Thanks for your replies.  Greatly appreciated. 

Wow. I remember those big EPI towers from the early '70s- which was probably the last time I heard them. Back then, most high power solid state amps weren't as good as what's around today, so I doubt we were able to hear what those things could really do. The guy who had them ran a Marantz 7 tube preamp, which was, even then, a classic piece, but dated, an SP-10 table (then it was new and cool, now it is vintage and cool), etc.
The Duntechs- fast forward to the late '80s- a different friend in a different city ran those with an early Krell power amp set up and a variety of turntables, including a Goldmund and an early VPI TNT with air bearing arm. I remember how good Ray Brown's bass sounded on that system- full height, great staging. 
Thanks for bringing back some good memories. 

LOL No worries whatsoever whart.  A nice fellow had a pair and contacted me to make me an offer for them because he, after so many years, never got around to restoring them.  I took on the project and gave them a total, back to better than new, restoration.  All new caps, wiring butyl surrounds, binding posts and matching stands.  The stats posted on Huw's website "Humanspeaker" were staggering to me.  I've never seen, or heard a pair, before and didn't know what to expect from them until completing the project. 
I must say, though I don't know how they would sound on tubes however, I am currently running the matching Epicure M4 and M1 (187wpc) amp with them and they sound far better than I had expected.  Good enough to move my Paradigm out of my system - actually out the door - and in the middle of trying to source a pair of higher power class A monoblocks. Had my eye on a pair of the Jeff Rowland 7iii however missed them and was in contact with a fellow about a pair of 600w Electrocompaniet Nemo monoblocks.  Haven't made up my mind what I'm going to do.  I do know that these M1000 are an amazing speaker, even just the specs,  and, so I'm told that they crave MORE POWER... lol  That's what the dealer told me, the one who sold Duntech/Dunlavy back in the day.  So this is one major reason why I think I will go on the hunt for monos.
She did say one thing that was of interest is that they would probably increase in value....lol
Cheers and regards..

Back in the ealry 80's a very goof friend of mine rann two Phase Linear D-500's into the M-1000.  His were from 74 or 75 and had the bi-amp option. Earlier models didnt have this but it is an easy retrofit.  Any way, at well over 500 watts per channel of very clean 
power the EPI's were quite happy to absorb it all. The only other spearker I've ever seen take so much power was the BOSE 901's.

I always loved the sound of EPI, and that wonderful inverted dome tweeter.. 

Apparently the Epi 601/602 take a ton of power as well.  The Epi 1000 that I had found and restored were an earlier pair however I replaced the spring clips with gold plated binding posts.  Total ground up restoration. Here is a picture of them: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?attachments/img_2641-jpg.654059/
Now on the hunt for a pair of high powered solid state monos trade deal to run with them.
I was on the hunt for a pair of the Duntech or Dunlavy prior to acquiring these but none were around here.  When I posed the above question to a dealer of high end audio gear (including the aforementioned) who actually owned a pair of these 1000s back in the 70s shocked me with her answer.  Still on the fence about keeping them or pursuing the above.... 
Yes, I too enjoy the inverted dome tweets from the Epi.  I believe Focal ended up getting the rights to the patent for the particular design.  Could well be wrong...

I’d like to ask if anyone has ever heard both the Epi 1000 towers and the Duntech Sovereign (I’m guessing the Dunlavy SC-V is very comparable to the Duntech Sovereign)?
I’d like to hear opinions, comments or various concerns. I’ve heard from 3 people however two were former Epi employees and one was the lady, former Duntech/Dunlavy dealer and Epi owner above.
Thank you in advance...