I have had the CG for a month now, and am generally pleased with it. The sound is great: easy to listen to, clear, full, and yet not emphasizing any portion of the music. Compared with my previous (heavily-modified) Adcom GFA-555, the music is full of pleasant surprises that keep me listening for hours.
I do have 3 issues with that amp (does anyone else?):
1) There is noticeable (loud, even) hum that comes out of my speakers when the amp is running with no input signal. The hum is noticeable on quiet passages of music or movies. My dealer checked with Sunfire and they say some hum is "normal". Is it that my speakers are too sensitive for this amp? I'm on the edge of returning the amp for this reason.
2) There is a delay between application of a signal and when the amp turns on. The first 2-3 seconds of my CDs/movies get clipped off. The turn-on is not sensitive enough to pick up some of the noise or clicks that might occur when the preamp is turned on and before the soundtrack starts
3) There is a slight hiss present when there's no signal.

I do not intend to be polemic, but for those who make big claims on multichannelpower amplifiers such as the SUNFIRE CINEMA GRAND, ATI1505, ADCOM GFA-7000, CARVER 705, and the like from CINEPRO, as well as for those who want to purchase a new multichannel power amplifier, my advise is short and simple: "Do not make any claims, and DO NOT purchase any multichannel power amplifier, until you have tried the CITATION 7.1 power amplifier (150W x 4 channel)".

Granted, CITATION dealers are scarce (CITATION brand is manufactured by MADRIGAL
AUDIO LABORATORIES), ads and reviews on CITATION equipment are rare, and the CITATION 7.1 is not unexpensive ($2,850), but this is a monster (MONSTER!) piece of equipment in any regard: definition, power, finesse, built quality, beauty, etc.(let aside weight: nearly 80 pounds). We are talking KRELL-league here! We are talking nearly orgasmic experience here!

My humble advise: Give CITATION 7.1 4-channel power amplifier a try (for both Home Theater & Music). Your bases are not covered until you have listened to this magnificent piece of equipment.

José Vicente Gomez

I bought a Sunfire Cinema Grand for HT, and its sound is pretty good. But I wonder why such a 200 watts amplifier only weighs 44 lbs. The ATI 1505 cost less 1700 but weighs 73 lbs. I always think the heavier, the better, for a best amplifier. Is it right?

I have recently been auditioning many 5 channel amplifiers including Parasound,Rotel,and ATI 1505.My speakers are Monitor Audio Full Metal Theatre,Wireworld AtlantisII biwire for the left,right,center,and orbit for the rears,and a B&K preamp.I was pleased with the Parasound but it had a tendency to make my speakers sound a little bright,so I returned it two days later and brought home the Sunfire Cinema Grand.WOW what a difference this beauty made.I wired the woofer to the voltage source and the high frequency drivers to the current source.The sound was very warm and the size of the soundstage was unbelievable.For Home Theatre this amp just keeps pumping out the power without generating any heat at all.Unless you spend another 2,000.00 there are not many if any 5 channel amps that can compete with the Sunfire Cinema Grand.If you are in the market for a great 5 channel amp you owe it to yourself to give this one an audition.

First of all, I must confess an admiration of all things Bob Carver. Many years ago I bought a Receiver 2000 that for a receiver was outstanding for its time. That was the begining of my fondness for Carver. The Amazing Loudspeakers I have had the pleasure of hearing, and they truly reproduce music in a class by themselves. Their sound is unlike that of other speakers, but similiar to speakers from Apogee. With this background in mind I auditioned the Cinema Grand. When the Cinema Grand was demonstrated, it was used in a theater set up and stereo setup. The movie on display was "Apocolypse Now" and the scene was where the tiger surprises the soldier in the jungle. First there is a sense of being surrounded by birds and insects in a lush quiet environment that reveals the species around you, the next thing you know the quiet is erased as the tiger roars into the scene and litteraly made me jump in my seat even though I fully Knew he was about to appear. The music heard in the same audition was a Rolling Stones recording. The Stones sounded so good that I didn't pay much attention to the sound of the various audio componants. Yes it sounded great and I was caught in the music itself. Bass, soundstage ,presentation and clarity all were very good, but the end result,enjoyment of the material was excellent and that is the true purpose of audio equiptment. Six months later I purchased my own Sunfire Cinema Grand. The speakers I use are Energy 22.3 mains, Ac-300 center and Rvss rears. My preamp is a Marantz Av 600. Currently I use analogue for a video source due to the debate concerning the recognised digital standards. My cd player is a Denon played through a Audio Alchemy processor. While my system is modest it does satisfy me. I enjoy my music and video greatly when reproduced through this system. Could it be improved ? Certainly, but to do so would require money spent which would not be equal in terms of auditory improvement.
In regards to the amp itself the soundstage is wonderful in stereo. The bass is full but not overbearing as in a Krell. The highs do not grate on my ears after extended listening, they may in fact be understated to a mild degree which works well with the Energys. The midrange is truly were this amp shines. It is natural and smooth. It may be on the warm side which I feel is a plus. Truly ,with the right recording it is very pleasant to listen to. In theater mode the center channel disguises the soundstage,but the other characteristics are all the same. There is a slight hiss present in the back speakers but i believe it is a result of electrical wiring in my home as opposed to the amp. There are the two speaker connections ,voltage and current source, and I have used the voltage as I found it to reproduce the bass more accuratly.
I would highly recommend the purchase of a Sunfire amp. It is a true bargain in affordable high end audio.You could find more perfect amps in terms of specifications, but would be hard pressed to find one better in terms of audible enjoyment.Buy one ,set it up properly with your existing equiptment and enjoy. P.S. In its price class this get five stars. In the whole spectrum it gets four.

This is to the guy that said the Sony 9000 is 10 db louder.You need to put the crack pipe down.Since the Sunfire is 200 watts a channel,you are saying that the Sony is putting out over 1600 watts.I am flat out calling you a LIAR!You are only showing your ignorance and bias attitude against Bob Carver products.The Sunfire blows away the Sony for sheerless output power,imaging,sound,and dynamic capabilities.Do not lie to the people reading these reviews.They are looking for an "HONEST" review.

I have the Cinema Grand and a B&K Ref20 and am truly amazed with the clarity and snap that this amp delivers with seeming no effort and absolutely no heat. Music is very defined and the soundstage is huge. One problem if you watch a lot of DSS mono programing you may have to swap the center channel with the front left, as the amp seeks a signal from the left channel in auto on mode. Buy one of these if you can!

flexability,power,looks

none

this is agreat amp!
This is what you need to do if you own one.
combine channels,use all four channels to drive your main
speakers.When you do this you will have twice as much
power.It makes a big difference.Draw back is you need to
go buy another amp for the surrounds.I just bought a
B&K 1400st mkII cant wait to have 5.1 again.If you try this
you will never go back............................
(must have biwireable speakers)

Similar Products Used:

bryston,ati

Control, slam, detail, transparency

Nothing at all

I have had this amp for about a month now and use it in the followinfg set up:-

I have a 300w sunfire stereo amp for the main fronts and use the cinema grand to run the centre - (Use two outputs to bi amp the centre speaker) and the rear chanels. This still leaves a chanel free for future upgardes to 6.1 surround.

The proscessor is a Bryston SP-1 and I have to say my system sounds amazing. I looked at various amps from Tag Mclaren and also Classe, however the sunfire is just unbeatable for the money. I watched films on DVD (Pioneer 737) and now find with the bi-amping of the front speaker that dialouge is clearer than ever and it gives a relaxed easy to understand audio that I had only dreamed of before. As for music, the 300w stereo amp does a fantastic job. I am waiting on delivery of the all valve sunfire pre-amp with all valve phono stage for music and I shall post a review once i have it.

I would recomend the above combination to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVC A1 SE

After listening to this amp for several hours I can honestly say I am amazed with its warmth of sound and generous bass! Movie soundtracks which were harsh souding with a receiver were a pleasure to listen to with the sunfire. Also, unlike many other amps, the Cinema Grand remains cool after an extended period of use. This $2400.00 amp is comparable to other more expensive five channel home theater solutions. I highly recommend it.