WTB Sunfire True Subwoofer MKII or MKIV

msg

Hey guys,
I'm interested in checking out the Sunfire True Subwoofer MKII Signature or MKIV, possibly. Generally looking for a small footprint sealed sub, intended use being primarily for music in a smaller space with some LSi7's, maaaaaaybe a little tv, but mostly just for 2.1 music, I think.

Also, I welcome any other recommendations for small, tight, musical subs.

Thanks!

shawn474

I haven't heard the sunfire, but can tell you the Mirage Omni s-8 is an impressive little sub with a small footprint and incredible performance. It can be had cheap as well. I have the s-10 and have felt no need to upgrade for quite some time.

tonyb

Where you located ? Here's one in Nashville for 400

http://nashville.craigslist.org/ele/4842317036.html

jon s

Be aware that the MK II had serious amp issues... They failed a lot... I had one and it had to be repaired three times in five years...

msg

shawn474 wrote: »

I haven't heard the sunfire, but can tell you the Mirage Omni s-8 is an impressive little sub with a small footprint and incredible performance. It can be had cheap as well. I have the s-10 and have felt no need to upgrade for quite some time.

thanks Shawn, I'll put the Mirage Omnis on the list to read up on. do you use your 10 for music, theater, or both?

DSkip wrote: »

As is the Polk Micropro 1000/2000. They go for about the same price as the Carver.

yeah, I was wondering about these as well. have you any experience with these for music? I can try to do some more research here.

tonyb wrote: »

Where you located ? Here's one in Nashville for 400
http://nashville.craigslist.org/ele/4842317036.html

I'm a little further east in Virginia Beach. that would be a nice local price. even with shipping, wouldn't be too too bad if all original packing materials. thanks for the heads up on that.

jon s wrote: »

Be aware that the MK II had serious amp issues... They failed a lot... I had one and it had to be repaired three times in five years...

yikes!
yeah, I've seen a listing on Ebay re: amp repairs, but I didn't know they failed *that* frequently. I should probably look for something else.

ken brydson

For a small footprint sub I'd look into a SVS SB1000 for $499 new. Free shipping and 45 day trial. Free return shipping if you don't like it.

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/sealed-box/sb-1000

msg

thanks Ken, yeah, that's a nice tidy little package, and great guarantee. definitely adding that to the reading list now.

I like the idea of the Sunfire, but the reliability and age of the ones available has me feeling a bit reluctant now. seems like there are several good less risky options available.

shawn474

msg wrote: »

shawn474 wrote: »

I haven't heard the sunfire, but can tell you the Mirage Omni s-8 is an impressive little sub with a small footprint and incredible performance. It can be had cheap as well. I have the s-10 and have felt no need to upgrade for quite some time.

thanks Shawn, I'll put the Mirage Omnis on the list to read up on. do you use your 10 for music, theater, or both?

Definitely for both; had a few subs that were good at one or the other. This does both VERY well. Again, so much so, that I have felt no need to upgrade. And i got it for $125. Outperforms that price many times over....

msg

this is helpful info, guys, thanks a lot.

Shawn - excellent deal on your Mirage!

rpf65

May be a little larger than you're looking for, but the HSU STF-2 may be another to consider

msg

hey guys, on that SVS SB-1000, it seems as though I wouldn't be able to use speaker level inputs and then back out to the speakers. so this would mean no bass management with this unit, right? the receiver I am using is from the 70s's, so obviously no bass management there.

I'm thinking that I would have to run something like this off the B speaker terms on the receiver, and let the LSi7's run full range. is this correct? but then I don't get the benefit of relieving the 7's of some low freq responsibilities?
http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/sealed-box/sb-1000

rpf65 wrote: »

May be a little larger than you're looking for, but the HSU STF-2 may be another to consider

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html
good recommendation. this sub would allow me to use its built in crossover? I've never really tried this before, so not sure what sort of results it provides, using a sub for bass management.

I may be guilty of a bit of inadvertent cross posting here. I started a second thread earlier in the Speakers forum with the intention of further recommendation type discussions to take place there. here is fine with me, but would it be best to take up discussions there?
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/165620/small-footprint-subs-primarily-for-music

zarrdoss

Bill Flannery is great with Sunfire gear. http://www.flannerysvintageaudio.com/ He fixed my Sunfire sub and I have not had any problems with it.

msg

interesting. thanks for chipping in with your experience.
do you know what specifically failed on yours?
were the parts the parts known for failing on these units, and is it a one time type fail and fix or known to be repetitive failure?
was the repair costly? (edit: just saw on the site, looks like a flat rate $225; not bad if a one time deal down the road)

zarrdoss

Mine would not stay on, the auto on feature, and the guy I bought it from did take it to a local repair shop that made it somewhat better but Bill just fixed the thing and offers a one year warranty. He replaced all the caps on the boards with much better ones than was put in stock or even available at the time. He worked for Bob Carver and really knows his stuff, plus hes a heck of a nice guy.

msg

wow, nice.
what price range might one consider for one of these subs?

quickr1

i also had my sun fire amp fixed. no problems since the repair but i don't use it very much. i sent mine out to vintage hifi of pittsburgh. if you decide you are still looking for a sun fire message me i might let mine go.

zarrdoss

Mine is the Sunfire True Architectural Subwoofer with no passive in rear. Like new, I picked mine up cheap. If you find one that you know needs repairs then maybe $2-300 depending on condition.

shawn474

Just saw this (can't get better for $200 in my opinion) and again outperforms its price many times over:
electronics.woot.com/offers/omni-s10-10-200w-powered-subwoofer-12?ref=cnt_wp_0_14

msg

Hey Shawn, thanks for posting that - that is a good deal.
I just realized that since I'm planning to use vintage receivers with this, I think I'm going to need a sub that has high level inputs and also speaker outputs so that I can use the crossover in the sub for bass management since the receiver won't be able to do it. I suppose I could just run the sub off the B terms, but that wouldn't do anything for alleviating the load on the LSi7's I'm using with this. meh. prob gonna have to think this over a bit more.