If you can get your hands on a pair of these used...don't miss them.
You will be rewarded with the best value for money audiophile speaker on Earth.
These are unbelievable sounding speakers PERIOD!!!! Huge sound, and great with all kinds of music. You hear sounds you never heard from other speakers , . Forget your other major brands, for the money, they will not come close. Their CLARITY and the highest frequencies is simply AMAZING. The dynamics and sound stage literally place you in an environment of “BEING THERE”. These are without a doubt the FINEST speakers I’ve ever heard and I’ve heard many. Very High Quality, in ALL respects, are the most appropriate words I can use to describe them.

Great mids and bass

none

I wanted to tell people about this great mod on the Dunlavy Speakers. I have the Dunlavy Aletha speakers. I had heard that the Aletha's use cheap parts and I recently found a great guy to do Mods here in New York. I had Blackie Pagano at www.tubesville.com look at them. He said the crossover was very complicated for a first order one and used the cheapest parts imagineable. For a $1000 he put in hi grade caps and resistors but did not change the topology at all. He just upgraded parts. What I got back was 75-100% better. It was amazing! The same sonic signature was there but everything was dramatically improved.

Similar Products Used:

BW Nautilus 802s, Dali Grands

many. see my earlier review

none at all

It's true, as stated by Dylan in his recent review, that Dunlavy Audio is under new ownerhip, though John D. is doing their R&D (good thing!). It is also true that Cantata and Aletha models are no longer being produced. According to Rand Clark, new DAL CEO, these models (6-sided Aletha in particular) were costly to produce- fully finished cabinets I suspect. They also did not "fit in" with the rest of the Dunlavy line. Personally, I could never consider any of the traditional full-range signature Dunlavy models because of huge dimensions and overpowering appearance.

DAL reports it has a new speaker, SC3A, which has a two- tiered grill, wood trim around the grill, and (I'm guessing) a different finish on the sides and back. It has the same drivers and down-firing woofer as Aletha and Cantata and should sound similar. No idea on pricing.

Personally, I'm glad to have the uniquely designed cabinet and the easy to accept visual appearance of the Aletha. Even more unique now that it is no longer being made. I'm sure the new SC3A will continue the Dunlavy tradition of accuracy and musicality, and though relatively "expensive" in absolute terms, good value.

Imaging, Sounstaging, Bass extension and detail, nutrality, clarity detail and definition

none that I can find!

I was all set to buy a pair of B&W Nautilus 802 speakers (which was winning choice - the culmination of a year long search) until I heard the Athenas while vacationing in Florida. I heard them at Sunshine Stereo. The speakers were displayed with an Audible Illusions preamp and a Spectron amplifier. The sound was so damn good that I bought the speakers on the spot and do not regret it for one minute. The service from Sunshine was exemplary - they offered a competetive price, had the speakers shipped directly to me, and patiently answered all my questions. It was obvious that they have a love of music and hifi and their enthusiasm for the product was justified.

Later on I bought the Spectron amplifier at the suggestion of both Sunshine owner Steve Zisper and John Dunlavy himself.

I have better sound than friends of mine who have spent three or four times the money that I spent! This is a better than a five star product.

Similar Products Used:

Von Schweikert, B&W, Aerial, Marrtin Logan

Big bass
Cheap cost

Small sweet spot
Not too prety in oak

Big bass, a bit bloated. Good mid range, with a too soft treble. Nice but not great.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to list, some better some worse

The best speaker I have ever heard;yes, just for your information, and at your service,I've owned the Wilson Watt 2/Puppy 3--they had sounded extremely good,or as some might put it, real,in the sense that it creates an hyperbolized transient and pahse domain phenomenon which ,after I listened to the Dunlavy Alethas, is actually is a serious amplitude and time domain distortion.I shall,and can prove my observation and ,hitherto, hypothesis , by both subjective and objective means;of course, that is if any of YOU would be willing to spending valuable time to listen and try to understand my objective and observational hpothesis. At any rate, if any loudspeaker designer or manufaturer, or any eletrical or electronics engineer should have any questions or doubts ,or concerns regarding the validity of my claims and findings, and any implications that might thus spring forth from such seemingly arrogant , yet scientifically and objectively provable parameters and qualitataive differences, I would be more than willing to ,with the supervision and help from the best loudspeaker designer,Mr.John Dunlavy, convince all of YOU who are skeptical of how sound waves are progated through air and how they should be faithfully reproduced by any form of electromechanical contrivance. Nonethelessly, it is with my perfectionist approach to all things in life that I must at once utter that the only other speakers in the world that are measured consistently better and sound statistically significant better ,under strictly controlled conditions(measuring parameters and their relevance to faithfully reproducing a precisely recorded rise and fall of air molecules) and listening environments( quite anechoic room ,real time comparision of live Vs replay,double blind condition of test subjects,and statistical significance of the tallied findings resulting from the listening tests conducted), are the higher model Dunlavy loudspeakers. At last, though not related to this particular discussion, I would like to conjecture that the only amplifiers worthy of Dunlavy Speakers are those of Goldmund of Switzerland, for these amplifiers use the highest amplification technology , with consideration of all system dependent varibles and unknowns(from impedance matching to theoretically making analogical the equivalence and implications of voltage to modulation of air molecules, and current to air molecules); most importantly, these amplifuers have a set of optimized parametric measurments that, if intepreted correcly with regard to live music and sound propagation theory,and deemed the significance, importance and implications respectively in order of magnitude of their contribution in reproducing an input signa linearly, denote almost perfect signal amplification , as far as human hearing acuity is concerned.

Do you want to venture ? Call me at 1-617-387-3707 after 5:00 p.m.

No need for any unfound subjective gibberish. Ultimate truth encompasses all forms of philosophical inquiry. And inquiry should begin with all conceivable observations.



Yours Sincerely,
JIAN X. HUANG
Very Late Night of the 13th
of bitter cold December in
the Year of 2000.

Exceptionally natural reproduction, deep, tight bass that extends into the low 20's, pin-point imaging.

Not much, maybe absolute loudness capability for those who wish to emulate live rock concerts (i.e. > 110dB peaks).

Place the Alethas well away from room boundaries (at least 3 feet) and sit at least 10 feet away and you will be rewarded with an extremely realistic and natural soundfield that simpy sounds real with the best recordings.

The bass is worldclass as well, with real extension into the low 20's that is both tuneful and powerful. I measure essentially flat in room response at 25Hz with a gradual rolloff to -3dB at 20Hz. The bass response is tight and accurate without the bloat of many underdamped ported enclosures. This bass will kick you in the chest with its power and control. A subwoofer for music is not required and probably would only muddy the smooth, tight bass of the Aletha.

The midrange is exceptionally smooth too, with none of the slightly aggressive emphasis of the original SC-IV. The speaker simply sounds so coherent, that it seems that only one driver is used instead of four.

The Alethas will also play quite loudly without strain and should satisfy all music lovers with the exception of those that wish to reproduce true rock concert levels with peaks above 110dB.

All in all, this is a fantastic loudspeaker. Equally adept with classical, jazz and rock and roll. Naturally miked recordings sound so real, it's spooky. You truly feel as if you are in the same space as the performers. If you are in the market for a truly accurate loudspeaker with real bass, you owe it to yourself to give these a listen.

Similar Products Used:

Dunlavy SC-IV, NHT, Acoustat, Vandersteen

clarity, balance, neutrality

chunky appearance

Many people ridicule persons willing to spend thousands on hi-fi equipment. However, there comes a point life where you just want something your gut tells you is "good", and maybe, even a "good value" to boot. Although good is a relative term, you probably wouldn't be reading this review if you didn't at least have some yearning to know what $6,000 can get you in terms of loudspeakers and sound. So read on.

My feelings about these speakers echo those of many of the previous reviews here. I like the acoustic suspension "sound" which produces a tight, musical bass, and is perhaps less sensitive to room placement than ported designs. My Alethas are about 2' from the rear wall, and 1' from side walls, 9 feet apart, located along the short wall of my living room- a real room, not a specially designed listening room. Nine feet separation along the short wall of your room is not the ideal setup recommended by Dunlavy for optimal imaging. My room is heavily carpeted, furnished, and draped, so there is not a lot of high frequency reflection. Placement limitations aside, the imaging is still quite good; the sound is seamless and balanced top to bottom. The lower frequencies are clearly there but are not overemphasized or boomy, even at higher volumes. My ear is particularly tuned to male voices and acoustic guitar, so that performers like Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, etc. sound like themselves, ONLY MORE-SO. You can hear the jangle and dangle of the old guitar ring. Joni Mitchell is right in the room with me on such songs as "California" from the "Blue" album. This kind of experience is why I sought to upgrade in the first place. The Alethas also deliver jazz and classical music competently.

The Alethas seem to play the music encoded on the source and not add or subtract anything. Some albums, like many of the Beatles', sound pretty flat from an image standpoint, but that's the way they were recorded.

The best word to describe the Alethas is "honest". Nothing added; nothing taken away.

Visually, as I noted in the summary, they are tall but somewhat "chunky". However, the strong Rosewood grain, the hexagonal shape, solid hardwood at top and bottom of the cabinets, the veneer on all six surfaces, and the way it sits on 6 short black supports attached to a thick hexagonal base make them visually very interesting- almost elegant. The Rosewood finish ($500 up charge) is very good from a distance but closer inspection reveals that the veneer appears to have a hard plastic-like protective finish applied to it. Nice and practical, but not knock-you-socks-off richness. Terminals on the back are industrial strength and heavily gold plated- I recommend a 1/2" nut driver to fasten the wires securely. Real solid.

Dunlavy always returned emails I sent asking for info, and in fact Fedexed a dozen veneer samples for me to look at- very responsive. I understand Drew Rigby, who I was in contact with many times, has now left Dunlavy for a position in retail A/V, but I would presume that Dunlavy will still be responsive.

My system is not fully "high end" but is slowly improving from hi-value-for-the-money 70's and 80's kit-built Hafler and Dynaco solid state units. Key components at this time are: Classe' CA-150 amp, Adcom GFP-565 pre-amp, Philips CD-880, Tandberg TD20A reel to reel, and soon to be installed 53' runs of Kimber Kable 8PR (replacing similar lengths of 14ga outdoor lighting wire.) My guess is that the sound will only improve with the Kimber Kable ugrade, especially for a long run.

The Analog Shop in Rochester is a small and low key. They ordered the Alethas in Rosewood based upon a few phone calls and emails, not knowing if I would show up to audition them, or if I did, whether I would buy them.

Previously, I listened briefly to Aerial 10T's, B&W 802 and 803, and some older Hales "Concept" units (now out of business). All nice, but not as balanced as the Dunlavys.

If you buy Alethas, you'd best have an empty mini-van to get them home, as they are shipped in HUGE fiberboard screwed and glued "coffins"- really massive. They just fit side by side in my wife's Dodge Caravan with all seats removed- not an inch to spare between the wheel wells.

Highly recommended product that I suspect will be with me for a long time.

Similar Products Used:

nothing even close (replace 19 year old ADS-L810's)

Timbral accuracy, coherence, integration, beautiful bass, image.

None.

I never thought I could make a serious purchase relaying on some web posted reviews.
To think that I did just that after visiting this site and the items are hi-end loudspeakers is beyond imagination.
On top of it there is no dealer for Dunlavy products in Australia, so I had to undergo import hassles.
It was all worth the trouble. The Alethas are superb. They look wonderful in Rose. They are chunky, yet handsome and perfect in size for a normal room. Their timbral accuracy, tremendous coherence, exceptional top to bottom integration and clean beautiful bass are just a few attributes which come to mind.
A couple of days ago I took the new St.Germain CD to a high end dealer in Sydney to find how is my system measuring up with the best. It is hard to believe, but the sound even on the most expensive Revel and Thiel could not come close to the image and coherence I get at home. I have the most awkward room one can get and yet, as one friend said, it is possible to walk around the performers.
The electronics working with Aletha’s are:
Mark Levinson No. 37 transport
Mark Levinson No. 36S DAC
Morrison ERPS and ELAD preamplifier
Mark Levinson No. 27.5 power amplifier
Nordost Moonglo digital connection
Dunlavy ULC interconnects
Dunlavy Z6 speaker cables

Congratulations to John Dunlavy and thanks to Andrew Rigby who had to put up with every question I had.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel CS6, B&W Nautilus, Revel Ultima

Athena has a very wide and deep sound stage. It's very accurate and the sound is very natural. The speakers disappear in the living room and you listen to the music and not the speakers.

No weaknesses in the sound. The only weakness is perhaps the price that is about 10000 USD here in Finland.

First of all I must say that we are (my wife and I) music lovers and not audiophile nuts. We listen to all kind of music from Classical, R&B, Rock, Afro, Soul to even Roots Reggae. It's not easy to find a speaker that works well with all these music types. For instance Avalon Eidolon are maybe the best with classic and acoustic music and also B&W Nautilus are good but they do not work well with electric rock and soul etc. DAL Athena's are great with all music types. They really fill your living room with music.You stop listening to your equipment and start to listen to music and enjoy it. Of course there are people who go around with a test disk that contains all those funny sounds that they want to hear. Those people will never find a set of speakers that totally satisfy them. I can now also listen to dynamic and natural sounding music in our kitchen. There is a wide door between the speakers from living room to kitchen. This has never happened before.
We are happy with the Athena's. I'm running the speakers with a Luxman tube preamp and amp set which maybe are not upto the level of our new speakers but still they sound great.

Similar Products Used:

In the last couple of years I have listened very many different speakers. For instance Magnepan, Martin Logan, B&W Nautilus, Avalon, Revel, Infinity, different German made speakers etc.