Sunfire The Ultimate Receiver

jmasterj
jmasterj Posts: 327
edited January 2003 in Electronics
Hey look what Bob Carver's been up to he went and made a new receiver. I need to know how much it cost. Anybody know anything about it yet? Check out www.sunfire.com This is what I
want to upgrade to. :D
JmasterJ Polk to the Death
Post edited by jmasterj on

Comments

  • audionutt
    audionutt Posts: 97
    edited November 2002
    I want one!!

    joe
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2002
    The Grand Theater III is 1 of the receivers I have looked over. Have you seen the option for off axis speakers outs? That is exactly what I attemped when I ran 2 floor speakers in parallel for my front left/right. I wish I could demo that box!

    I saw it on a web site for about 3.0K... pretty pricey but probably well worth the coin.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited November 2002
    Hbombtoo,
    Look a little harder, the Theater Grand III is not a receiver, it is a pre-amp.
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited November 2002
    200 WATTS rms PER CHANNEL into eight ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz with no more than 0.5% THD
    Holy shintz, that's not good, .5%, YIKES! Plus you have all those amps with only 1 power supply, also, not good. Especially if your going to drop 3k.


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2002
    Ron,

    All of Bob's amp's, that I've seen, are rated at .5% THD which is still inaudible to the human ear.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited November 2002
    I am sure it kicks ****. But the 200watts isn't a consistant output.
    He created a "new" technology that uses one power source and distributes the power in a split second to what speaker needs it.
    Very pricey but I would love to get my hands on it.;)
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited November 2002
    I already played around with it,
    I will say this,it's one of the best sounding receivers on the market.I'd say 3rd...in the running.Sounds almost exactly like there seperates.It sounds better then the Integra,Denon,Kenwood.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • weavercr
    weavercr Posts: 289
    edited November 2002
    I demo one while looking for speakers, I got a side by side compare to the B&K 307 on B&W 805s. IMHO it is very very close to the B&K.
  • jrausch
    jrausch Posts: 510
    edited November 2002
    I recently heard this piece a couple of days ago. Very clean sound with the Boston Acoustics sub/sat system. I don't think separates take up that much more room, but if you need an all-in-one solution this is definitely worth consideration. Bob's right on track with this one. Good clean channel separation with plenty of juice for most HT applications. I listened to allot of systems that day and the only speaker system I thought was better than my LSi's was the Martin Logan's @ 4X the cost. All I can say is Sonic Butter.
    The Lsi's do beat the logan's out in the "out of sweet spot" area. You walk away from those electrostats and everything collapses, the Logan's are a definitely a sit down system. The Klipsch movie room was nice, but the horns are still not my taste. The coolest new toy they had was the $20,000 force feedback couch that will tilt any direction and rumble during explosions. The scene in "Pearl Harbor" where the Japanese were attacking was like a virtual ride at Disney Land.
    "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2002
    Frank, Sorry for the confusion, I thought we were talking about the pre/pro. Thats the box I want...

    Does any1 have experience with off axis speaker settup?

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited November 2002
    All of Bob's amp's, that I've seen, are rated at .5% THD which is still inaudible to the human ear
    Ok then, set me straight. I've been raised on the assumption that the higher the THD the poorer the amp quality. I was told (by many) never by an amp rated over .1%thd the distortion level can become damaging at higher volumes. True or not? Even the crapy Sony's are rated at .09%. What's the deal here?


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2002
    Here is an interesting read....

    http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/tubestuf/thdconv.htm

    just trying to help. ;)
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2002
    Originally posted by Ron-P

    Ok then, set me straight. I've been raised on the assumption that the higher the THD the poorer the amp quality. I was told (by many) never by an amp rated over .1%thd the distortion level can become damaging at higher volumes. True or not? Even the crapy Sony's are rated at .09%. What's the deal here?


    Peace Out~:D

    Ron,

    I'm certainly not hacking on you at all. Of course I don't have the scientific gear to test all of this but most of the things that I have read indicate that ultra-low THD ratings, while impressive looking really don't mean a whole lot. Like I said, I'm pretty sure that all Carver amps power ratings were at .5% THD. Some of the things I've read are that the distortion is inaudible below 5 percent or something like that. Most sub amps produce in the vacinity of 10-20 percent THD.

    Anyway, IMO, I think that the THD ratings are overrated.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited November 2002
    THD is not that bad of a thing. It is even harmonics which is not distasteful in the least. IMD is the killer. Even .1% sounds nasty and can destroy speakers very easily.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited November 2002
    Thanks for the enlightenment. Great read H!


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
  • jmasterj
    jmasterj Posts: 327
    edited November 2002
    I think all the Carver amps I've ever seen have been rated at .5% THD. I've only owned (2) so far, and each has been connected to a pair of POLK speakers. I personally like this combination. Just a side note. My receiver is rated at .09% THD, but it can't compare to the sound from my Carver TFM-35x Power Amp. I'd love to have the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver with LSi15's, the LSi center, and LSi9's in the rear. Doesn't take much to please me. I need a price...
    JmasterJ Polk to the Death
  • fireshoes
    fireshoes Posts: 3,167
    edited November 2002
    The more you turn it up, the more wattage and distortion are produced, and vice versa. Don't like the .5% rating? Then turn it down. Now you have lower distortion, but less watts too.

    At least it's a 20hz-20khz rating. Look at the sign with Sony receivers. It's rated at 1khz, which is why they are able to display "100 watts" when it's really 30 or less. BTW, don't think I'm trying to put Sunfire and Sony in the same class. I'm just showing that everyone has their own ratings system, since there's no industry standard really.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited November 2002
    It's the numbers game.........and an old trick.

    The Sunfire receiver is nice, and for my picky ****,I will go on record to say it one of the finest sounding receivers I heard.I think I said it before,it's 3rd on my list........fighting with the Marantz for the 3rd spot.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • weavercr
    weavercr Posts: 289
    edited November 2002
    I am trying to get a dealer in Beaufort to do a shootout with Denon, Marantx and Onkyo intregra line for HT, comparable to the 3803 and 2802. I am mainly interested in the Denon/Marantz compare. He wants Onkyo and Yammie added to the compare. This is where I have the line on the KLF30 for the classic rock.

    Whats you opinon on the Denon/Marantz?
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2002
    Originally posted by fireshoes

    At least it's a 20hz-20khz rating.

    Yep! big difference when the rating is over the band vrs 1kHz.

    Good catch!

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited January 2003
    Once again I add to an old thread.. tho this one's still warm...

    As well as rating his amps across the entire audible spectrum, Bob also rate his amps at full rated continuous output into 8 ohms, which, at least the time of his arrival on the scene, was not the norm.

    For my M-1.5t that 350 w/ch. Your ears would be distorting at that point...

    God Bless Mathew and Bob...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner

    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
  • Apex
    Apex Posts: 69
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by mantis
    It's the numbers game.........and an old trick.

    The Sunfire receiver is nice, and for my picky ****,I will go on record to say it one of the finest sounding receivers I heard.I think I said it before,it's 3rd on my list........fighting with the Marantz for the 3rd spot.

    I'm just curious,what is your first and second choice?.
    H/K AVR7000

    "LSI25's bi-wired with 2.4s

    Mirage OM c2 Center "LSiC soon"

    FX300i rears "LSi15's soon for the rears".


  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by Apex


    I'm just curious,what is your first and second choice?.

    I'll bet $5 that he says B&K and Rotel. :)
  • weiser
    weiser Posts: 55
    edited January 2003
    All purchasing receivers or amplifiers should read this link!
    Very interesting and unbiased information!

    http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/misconceptions1.php
    JVC AV48WP30 Widescreen TV
    Marantz SR6200 Receiver
    Panasonic RP-82 DVD
    Sony SAT-A50 DSS DD Receiver
    Sonic Frontiers Anthem Amp 1
    Tara Labs-Axiom Interconnects
    Tara Labs Digital 75 Co-axial
    Kinima HiG2 Mains
    Polk CS400i Main Center
    Kinima KC2 Rear Center
    Polk FX300i Rears
    Polk PSW 350 LFE Sub
    M&K V-3B Mains Sub
    M&K V-2B Mains Sub
    M&K LP-1S High Pass Filter
    Ultralink Bi-wiring Thru
    AR Pro Series Interconnects
    Marantz RC2000 MKii Remote
  • ntculenuff
    ntculenuff Posts: 1,146
    edited January 2003
    the sunfire ultimate reciever is a beauty get to look and play with it every day it retails for just under 4k, 200x7 what a tank. still want to do the sunfire pre amp/amp setup though
    Speakers:
    Definitive BP7001sc mains
    Definitive C/L/R 3000 center
    Polk RT800i's rears
    Definitive supercube I Sub
    Audio:
    Onkyo TX-NR3010
    Emotiva XPA five Gen 3
    OPPO BDP-103 CD, SACD, DVD-A
    Video:
    Panasonic TC-P65ZT60
    OPPO BDP-103 Bluray
    Directv x's 2
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by weiser
    All purchasing receivers or amplifiers should read this link!
    Very interesting and unbiased information!

    http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/misconceptions1.php

    Good deal weiser - we had a lengthy discussion about power ratings a few months ago and arrived at the same conclusions. There is actually a website that lists the true power output of dozens of A/V receivers with all channels driven simultaneously. It was an eye opener.

    Some manufacturers are starting to list their high end units with "all channels driven" power ratings, and I definitely support this change.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited January 2003
    The two Carver power amps that have THD levels DIFFERENT from ALL the other Carver power amps, are the M-500t, and the TFM-35. They have significantly lower PRINTED specs than the other power amps.

    The statement everybody is dicking around with is flawed anyway. The THD level for all the other Carver amps, is described as >.5%. NO GREATER THAN .5%.

    NONE of the amps are rated at .5%.

    The distortion levels are well below the threshold of HUMAN audibility. Whoever says they can tell the diff, is full of ****.


    George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)
  • freid
    freid Posts: 24
    edited January 2003
    There is actually a website that lists the true power output of dozens of A/V receivers with all channels driven simultaneously. It was an eye opener.

    To Dr Spec.
    Do you have a link to that site?
  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by freid
    There is actually a website that lists the true power output of dozens of A/V receivers with all channels driven simultaneously. It was an eye opener.

    To Dr Spec.
    Do you have a link to that site?


    Link Please.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
  • joe logston
    joe logston Posts: 882
    edited January 2003
    i went in the carver exhibit at the ces and they had the new receiver hooked up to NHT speakers, it sounded average to me.
    . rt-7 mains
    rt-20p surounds
    cs-400i front center
    cs-350 ls rear center
    2 energy take 5, efects
    2- psw-650 , subs
    1- 15" audiosource sub

    lets all go to the next ces.