RE: Sunfire Subs.

debussyj

Hi,
After some deliberation with Dr. Spec, I've come to the conclusion that with my present system, my present PSW303 just doesn't cut it. I'm seriously thinking about getting a Sunfire Subwoofer, either a Super Junior or Mark IV or perhaps Signature Series. Does anybody have any experience with them?

Thanks,

Colleen


Oh, Present Equipment is:

Marantz SR-9200
Fronts: Polk LSI-15's
Center: Polk CS-275 (to be upgraded)
Rears: Polk LS/FX (to be upgraded)
Sub: Polk 303

wangotango68

unless you have a really big room get the junior. i owned one of the smaller subs. and it was over kill for our living room.

scott:cool:

HBombToo

have you considered SV Subs yet? lots of bang for the buck IMO.

HBomb

Dr. Spec

The subject of Sunfire subs (and all of the Sunfire clones) has come up here before.

The basic design is this: A small but ultra long throw driver, a passive radiator, a tiny enclosure, an immensely powerful amp, and an extremely steep EQ curve.

The super powerful amp is needed for the EQ curve, in order to maintain a flat response down to 25 Hz or so. The EQ curve might require (on a progressively increasing rate) upwards of 20 dB of gain at 25 Hz. A 10 dB increase in volume requires 10 times more amp power.

The upside to the Sunfire design is pretty impressive SPL down to about 25 Hz from a very small and easy to hide enclosure.

The downside is a much higher THD rating in the low bass frequencies than a much larger sub which relies on a large enclosure volume to obtain a natural tune at 20-25Hz without the need for EQ or excessive power input.

To place everyone on a level playing field, the best sub reviewers and testers limit THD to 10% at any given frequency and SPL. They measure all the subs in the same room, in the same location, at the same mic distance. So you can look at the sub output at say 20 Hz and see how loud it can play before it reaches 10% THD.

Another equally good way of skinning the same cat is to check the THD at a given SPL and frequency - for example 100 dB at 20 Hz yields X% THD.

Even at max output, the Sunfire can't even hit an honest 100 dB at 20 Hz (it's more like 98.5 dB) and at this SPL, THD checks in at a staggering 47%.

In comparison, a single SVS CS Ultra sub only generates 5% THD at 20 Hz at 100 dB. In fact, even at max output - the Ultra checks in at 112 dB at 20 Hz at 13% THD. That would be subjectively 2.5 times louder than the Sunfire, with almost 4 times less distortion. Pretty heady stuff.

In closing, this is not Sunfire bashing and SVS boosting - I simply have hard data on those two models. This post is simply to illustrate that the Sunfire design has major SPL and THD limitations compared to a much larger quality sub, and should only really be compared to other similar designs to be fair.

If you simply do not have any room at all for a sub, then the Sunfire definitely has it's niche, and generates pretty loud SPL for its size, but be aware you will be carrying some pretty high THD along with those SPL numbers.

Doc

debussyj

Doc,

As usual, you make a good point here. I'm seriously considering the SVS and trying to make the room for one. My problem, is I have limited space for the sub. But I don't like those THD # of the Sunfire.

Thanks,

Colleen

Dr. Spec

The SVS cylinder footprint is only about 18" in diameter. Or you can look at the SVS box sub (line-up soon to be expanded) or any other quality cylinder or box subs, but most of them will be at least that large. Other excellent subs are:

HSU VTF-3 or TN1220HO
Paradigm 2200 or Servo 15
VMPS Larger with heavy duty driver upgrade
Klipsch RSW 15 (caveat - badly lacks extension below 30 Hz, othewise excellent)
Velodyne HGSII 15 or 18
Any sub in your price range built by Acoustic Visions
Any sub in your price range built by Stryke Audio

goingganzo

check out stryke you can get a av15 with a amp and dual pr in a box around 25in square. and they look great. but also weights 167lbs
http://groups.msn.com/Martice/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=27