I have been using this amp for almost two years now and have realy liked it but it has not been problem free.I'm using LexicoN DC-1 processor, ( getting ready to upgrade to MC-1 )Paradigm Studio 100 frt,Ref 450 CC, 7se rears and Titans for the sides. When I first hooked up the Cinema Grand I noticed a buzz coming from the amp and also the speakers. You could not hear it while playing music or movies unless it was a very quiet passage. It still bothered me knowing it was there. I called Sunfire and they told me the slight buzz was normal transformer noise.After about three months the buzz became so loud while in auto on/off mode that it woke me up, amp down stairs bedroom up stairs.I called Sunfire and they had me send it to them at my cost and returned it at thier expense. When I received it back it still had the loud buzz. I returned it to the shop I had purchased it from, "should have done that at first", they replaced it with a brand new one. Still has a slight buzz but have lived with it.I am going to upgrade to Bryston 7B ST amps.I have heard these amps with my speakers and it is like night and day. I know the Brystons are quite a bit more expensive but what from what I heard it is well worth it. I'm not dissing Sunfire just moving on to better. Will probably keep Sunfire for surrounds.I'm installing a isolation transformer for a deicated circut for my equipment, this may help with the buzz I hope.

Recently installed Grand Cinema in a new system (part of a future AV ultimate?) that includes Rega CD, Technics turntable (tweaked), Tice cables and interconnects (with some XLO), and Von Schweikert 4.5's. The amp. seems to deliver everything that's in the source, and there is certainly no sense of strain with the 4.5's. Solid, quiet, clean, not brittle, powerful, unstrained, and stable. What more should an amp. be?

Citation 7.1, cinepro 2k5 and 3k6 for that matter,amp5 ,what ever.All are heavy over weight amps with ancient thinking behind them. Fans, heat sinks over built crap.. The sunfire can and will shred all comes, without heating up your room,or other equip.Will not suck massive amounts of energy out of your wall socket and turn it into wasted damaging {over,time board expantion,blown fuses}HEAT. But what the hell you could jump on the wagon with the other Bob bashing common thinking companys,trying to get everyone to be against evolution.

Anyone else notice the the first half of the IP address of the 2 bad reviews on this piece (which are written strikingly similar) are exactly the same? This indicated that at very least the two people are most likely using the same ISP. More likely it is the same person flaming this piece for whatever reason. I have some experiance with this piece and it is very good sounding and extremely powerful.. .nuff said eh? If a review is really out of whack, take it with a grain of salt....

The Sunfire Cinema Grand is overblown hype. the sound is muddy, the highs arepiercing; similar to a pencil jab to the eardrums. the bass isn't clear or punchy, it hums over the speakers just loud enough to ruin quiet passages of
music. I have had other amplifiers hooked up to the same processor and none
hummed or sounded as one dimensional as the Sunfire does. I am using Snell
type 'D' speakers and a Sony TA-E9000ES pre-amp. All the connectors are brand
new and custom made. There was careful attention paid to the connects and wall
power to avoid ground loop hum. I originally had a Sony TA-N9000ES, but wanted
just a little more power. I should have stuck with the "SONY" at over a
thousand dollars less it also has the best sound for anything in the $1300.00
to $4000.00 price range. Everything about the Sony is great! clear musical
notes, smooth highs, clean, powerful and defined bass, the voices are projected
nicely, not to forward and not to far in the back there is an excellent presence
to the music it is almost 3-dimensonal with placement of the insruments out in
space in front of you to give a feeling of being there live. The Sunfire does
not do any of this. I feel that when someone spend upwards of $2400.00, they
subconcsiously want to believe that it has to be good or else why did they spend
that much money on a piece of crap? I invite anyone to compare the Sunfire to
the SONY TA-N9000ES AND YOU WILL SEE BY FAR WHAT IS THE BEST VALUE AND SOUND IN
HI-FI AUDIO/VIDEO TODAY BAR NONE. ONE STAR FOR FOOLING THE PUBLIC ON A CHEAP
DESIGN PASSED OFF AS HIGH-END.

I've been listening to combo Sunfire Cinema Grand + Theater Master with KEF Ref.3 It was very nice for movies (with sub.), but in stereo mode this combo did not sounded better than my Pioneer Elite receiver($1,200) on same speakers! Plus Theater Master was making some static noise when adjusting sound level.
It sure looks cool , but IMHO for $5,300 you can do better.
Can't rate just amp. , but for combo - 3.

Power output. Sound quality.

None.

I find the Sunfire Cinema Grand to be the ultimate amp for Home Cinema.
I have no hum or any other kind of noise from the amp.
In tandem with the Sony TA-E9000ES Control Pre-amp I yet have to come accross a better combination.
Full marks for the Sunfire and anybody that writes negative reviews on the Cinema Grand either doesn't have one and is envious of people who do or they write negative reviews for the fun of it. Either way these people can't be taken seriously.

Similar Products Used:

Technics SX910 Receiver

Huge soundstage, incredible detail, transperancey, power in reserve

none yet

Where to start? I use this amp to drive ML SL3's for l/r and a ML Cinema center. I use the front L/R current outputs to drive the elecrostat drivers and the rear L/R voltage outputs to drive the woofers. Essientally bi-amping the speakers with 800 watts per speaker at 4 ohms. The remaining channel is used to drive the center channel. The old Yamaha Mx1000 has been delegated to the surrounds,you can read other reviews on that amp, a strong performer. My listening is 80% music, 20% theater. First off, when I first hooked up the unit I had a hum from the center speaker with my preamp in stereo only mode. Disconnected the cheap RCA cable I had used to connect the center and the hum went away. Replaced the interconnect with a Kimber cable Hero interconnect to match my mains and the problem is gone. I suspect the unit is very sensitive to interference and ground loops, just my guess. Also my unit has auto on/off so power switch on back is not a problem.
Finally to the musical aspects. I have owned my SL3's for 2 years and love them but they have always lacked in bass as others have eluded to. What a surprise when I hooked up the Sunfire and suddenly had clearly defined, tight bass. I no longer use my sub for music listening. The mids are rich and the highs very detailed, more so than I thought the speakers capable and I thought they were pretty incredible before. The soundstage extends well beyond the boundaries of my room and has not only depth but height, a new experience for me. On recordings such as Diana Krall or Patricia Barber you can hear every tiny detail, smacking of the lips, intakes of breath, foot tapping, etc. The voices are very natural and airy as well as the intruments. I had formerly had problems with a slight sibilance but that is gone now as well. In short, at least matched with Martin Logans, this amp exceeded my expectations, especially considering the price. It has made my speakers much more dynamic yet transparent and life-like. I had auditioned the Krell amps but found them a bit too clinical for my tastes. I enjoy and prefer the slightly warmer sound of the Sunfire that has been mentioned in previous posts.
On home theater, this amp made the dialogue from the center very clear and precise, never sounding strained or in competition with the rest of the system. I am quite confident it would prove quite capable driving 5 speakers.
On a final note, I would reccomend using a SPL meter sometime. With this amp my speakers never seem "louder" just fuller, richer, and more dynamic. But using a meter I found that I was listening at levels with peaks over 100db without realising it, and my speakers are relatively inefficient.
In my humble opinion this amp is an excellent value and deserves an audition. It may not mate well with all speakers but I highly reccomend it for electrostats. I wish all of you luck in your individual quests for sonic perfection.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha MX1000, this is my first multi cahannel amp

none

2 broke in 1 mth

amp never worked right to give it a try. amps were two weeks old. sunfire would not replace amps, but would fix them in a timely manner. got a refund instead,paying this much on a amp and having them fixed is crazy.

Similar Products Used:

adcom

Look, Stays Cool, Plenty of power for almost any speaker

Binding posts could of been metal instead of plastic.

I mated this with the latest flagship from Pioneer - The ELite 49tx..WOW, so much power, energy and authority, especially with DVD. Music sounds fantastic as well. I tried mating with a Theater Grand II and HATED the TGII - sounded thin, flat and bright. But this was the TGII not the AMP. This amp is ultra cool, never gets warm at all but pumps out the wattage with ease. The signature would of been too much for my speakers and room and at $1600 this amp was a STEAL.

If you are looking for a 200 watt amp with 5 channels, I believe this is teh best you can get, even if you spent up to $3k - Save somemoney and find one of these puppies, but dont pay retail..you can get them online at very low prices.

Similar Products Used:

ALL of teh flasgship reciever