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Upgrade Von Schweikert VR-4 to Dunlavy SC-IV?

Greetings,

I own a pair of the original VR-4’s that I bought from Ambrosia A/V many moons ago. I had them mated with a Sumo Andromeda III for a long time, and they sounded sluggish, and lacked mid-bass impact and dynamics. I lived with them this way for 10 years. I recently bought a new amplifier (Parasound) which really livened up the VR-4’s, but they’re still not a speaker with the dynamics that I crave. I just contacted VR to see if they still offer the VR-4 to VR-5 upgrade, and unfortunately it is no longer available.

At the time I bought the VR-4’s, I auditioned the Dunlavy SC-IV’s, but I simply could not afford them at the time. I even visited the Dunlavy facility in Colorado Springs, and was mightily impressed with the effort that went into these speakers. I now have the opportunity to purchase a pair of the SC-IV’s at a reasonable price, so I’m thinking of “upgrading”.

I haven’t listened to the SC-IV’s in over 12 years, and never was able to compare them side-by-side, so I was wondering if any that has done so could give me a brief overview of the differences. While I like my VR-4’s, I would really like some marked improvement in the areas of dynamics and mid-bass “punch.” The VR-4’s sound too “studio,” and less “life-like” due to their lack of dynamic contrast, and I’m wondering if the SC-IV’s will fill that void.

Thanks!
seadweller
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seadweller OP
55 posts
 
Everyone has really brought up some very valid points, and actually, opened my eyes....

I guess trading one 10 year old speaker for another 10 year old speaker is not going to move me forward in any way. Basically, I'll just be trading for another speaker that sounded different than my current VR-4's the day I bought them. I have to assume that technology has moved on!!

I bought the VR-4's for a reason; their captivating imaging and midrange qualities. I felt that was a fair tradeoff for their somewhat warm presentation and lack of "kick," but if Von Schweikert has maintained his design philosophy, how nice would my VR-4's sound if they were supercharged, with more dynamics and punch, all the while retaining the midrange qualities that give you goosebumps?

I'm going to take a step back and think about this before I jump. The SC-IV's are a really good deal price-wise, but how good is a deal if your enjoyment will be short-lived?

I'm sure I'd love the SC-IV's, even being 10 years old, because I liked them from the beginning, but again, if my VR-4's were "faster," and had more dynamics, I'd be set for life.

By the way, aside from the usual suspects (Aerial 10T for example), what other speakers are considered good competitors of the VR-4 Gen III? I don't recall every seeing a pair of these on the used market.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
2,919 posts
 
>The Gen III HSE were considered the reference before the VR4SR was released.<

And to my ears, they may still be the better speaker.

Oz
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
By the way, aside from the usual suspects (Aerial 10T for example), what other speakers are considered good competitors of the VR-4 Gen III?

If you want more dynamics, and DAL SC-IV is your reference (I assume you have lots of space), you may wish to audition larger ATC's...I recall a review somewhere (mix magazine I think) comparing DAL SC-IV with ATC SCM 300's....rock engineers preferred ATC's and classical engineers preferred DAL's (according to the review). Telarc uses ATC which is mostly classical ....so ATC are not just a rock speaker although they can play very loud (so an engineer can play back to the rock band what the rock band just played at the levels of live music). ATC use a short coil in a long magnetic gap and therefore suffer much less compression/distortion at higher SPL's than standard consumer designs (long coil in short gap).

However, I would not call them a competitor to VR-4's as the larger ATC's are found more often in professional studios (as mains) rather than as domestic speakers....like the DAL's they are big, imposing and score low on the WAF evaluation....but they would almost certainly give you that extra punch/dynamics (like live music) that you appear to be looking for.
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