I've had the Cinema Grand for over a year now and am completely satisfied. It performs well for both music and movies and looks great to boot. My current setup includes the Rotel RSP980 preamp and Definitive Speakers. I'm looking to possibly change to NHT 2.9 or 2.5i's. Has anyone heard the NHT's with the Cinema Grand and what were your impressions. Don't know if this will be a good match or not. Any responses can be sent to my email.

I just got done with some serious listening to a Sunfire Cinema Grand, and was completely amazed.
I heard the CG connected to a Yamaha preamp/processor, Pioneer DVD player and five channels of Magneplanars. I was surprised how well the amp handled those power-hungry Mags -- I didn't hear the amp clip even once while playing the action scenes in "Ronin."

Switching over to music, the CG did even better. Transient response was quick and "punchy," without overhang or compression. Electric guitars had the warmth and "ring" you would expect from a high-quality tube amplifer. Voices were clear and uncolored.

All this performance, and the amp didn't even get warm after 3 hours of intense listening to movies and music.

With all the Carver-bashing from dealers and on the net, I was skeptical of the Sunfire until I heard it. After hearing it, I would definitely give it a 5-star recommendation.

An amplifier that can drive the most demanding loads at $2.38 per watt. That is a bargain. The cinema grand has enough wattage to send sound pressure levels to 110 dB. What about sound? The bottom end is strong and tight. The high ends are crystal clear using the current source in conjuction with bi-wiring. Try to use the grand cinema to drive your front three speakers. This will allow you to bi-amp you left and right speakers. Talk about amazing sound. Why would someone spend more money on an amplifier when you can get it for a bargain? Keep your Krells. I will take a sunfire anyday.

Sonic clarity,versitility,stable power

No detachable pwr cord,no center ch auto on

I have owned my CG for three years in March 00'. I have run this amp through a pair of Martin-Logan ReQuests for two years now with a McCormack TLC Line Drive Pre-amp. This amp is nothing but impressive!!!! Being that the M-L's demand stable amplification and alot of it, the Cinema Grand has never let me down...The only limitation has been the power coming from the wall( as we speak I'm trying to connect directly to the pole behind the house)...
Over my three years of ownership,I never once had a buzz/hum come from this amp...These cases of this are probably isolated and nothing to fear...I'm probably going to upgrade to a Signature CG in the future, because of the pwr increase and the changes made in the rear panel design.
This amp is definately recommended...If your planning to buy an amp for under $2500 this is it, look no further!

Beautiful piece of equipment

The Hum

I have had my Cinema Grand for about a little over a year. I have heard the hum coming from the amp which is the transformer and also a little hum coming from the speakers when the house is quite. The thing I notice is when you push the amp and that is up to say -26db rating on the Theatre Grand you experience a pop or a little click and then the buzz gets worse. Take down the volume and then the buzz goes away. Probably the way Bob Carver designed it it just has that one problem. other than that I have to agree with the majority for the money you are getting a great sound AMP

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None

Brute Continuous Clean Power, Low floor noise, auto on/off.

Wish the main on/off switch had been installed in the front
panel, keep forgetting to flip it on everytime I need to
power it down....have to go to another room to flip it on.

I'm mating it with the B&K Ref 20 pre/pro,
which mate really well! The Sunfire never ceases
to amaze me. Always sounding pure and crystal clear.
The soundstage presented is huge, whether I'm
playing Van Halen,the mighty Sam Mcllain, Selena,
or firing up a DTS/AC3 DVD! Seems to have a never ending
source of clean power. The unit I have is extremely
quiet with out the side effects of some I've read here.
Have had it for a little over a year and don't plan
on replacing it anytime soon. 5 stars

HTS-3500 Monster Cleanpower
Paradigm Reference Studio 100's
Paradigm Reference LCR 450 CC
Paradigm Reference Studio ADP 450 surrounds
Paradigm PS-1200 2@
Definitive Technology Powerfield 1800
Toshiba SD-9000 cd/dvd player
Pioneer Elite PRO-200 Monitor
B&K Reference 20 pre/pro
Monster cable interconnects
Better cables interconnects
Monster original speaker cable(bi-wired) soon to upgrade to Better Cable biwired speaker cable

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Adcom, Rotel

Power, this amp has lots of power for my application. It does a great job when listening to music and an outstanding jod with DVD movies. The amps processers are very responsive and clean. I leave it this amp on 24 hrs a day and have yet to here any hum.

None

If I had to do it all again I'd invest in this amp again. If you can afford it but it! If you can't wait until you can its worth the wait. But, if you have lots and lots of money you can buy a lot more expensive stuff. but for use working people this is our amp.

Large soundstage. Delicate, sweet midrange/highs relative to similar priced amps. Deep, precise bass response. Always runs cool.

For the price, no amp beats Sunfire. If you have the bucks, try Levinson or Theta for more delineated soundstage and more forward presentation.

I have had the Sunfire one week. It blows away my Rotel 985 THX both relative to soundstage, bass, and midrange/highs. (I use the bi-amp configuration recommended by Sunfire on my Monitor Audio speakers.) "Sweet" is the best term that comes to mind to describe the sound; not tinny, cold, or analytical which you find in many solid-state amps. At first, I did witness amp buzz coming from my speakers with the Sunfire installed. After speaking with Ken in Sunfire Customer Service, I tried listening for the buzz with the pre-amp inputs removed. Surprise, the buzz went away. I replaced my Monster input cables with Tara Labs Prism cables and the buzz stayed away. I suspect I have a minor ground-loop problem which the Tara Labs' fix in the ground design of their Prism cables; the ground handling in the Tara cable is not a straight wire job which you see in lower-end cable design. Bottomline: In comparison to Rotel, ATI and Parasound, the Sunfire Cinema Grand is the best sounding amp in my system. System components: Lexicon DC-2, Toshiba 2108 DVD player, Marantz CD player, NAD Tuner, Richard Grey Power Company current regulator, and Monitor Audio gold-series speakers (sometimes called "Full Metal Theatre".)

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Rotel, ATI, Parasound

Plenty of power, good sound.

Major humming. Problem.

Will not disappoint with power levels. Will also sound very good. I am deeply bothered by this very audible hum. I thought it was an isolated problem until I read these reviews. I have used it for many years now without noticing it. But now, the hum is here. Other then that, I think it sounds good. May work out very well for you.

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Accurus 3 X 200

POWER, POWER, and oh ya, sounds great too!

hard to store container it came in.

So far, i love it. it has excellent looks, and has the bells and whistles needed for an amp. matches up well with my tube cd player. you can get that (tube warmth sound) out of the amp. and having xlr inputs are a major plus. i am looking forward in getting more sunfire equipment. (theater grand 2) and a true sub to go along with it.

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audio research, pioneer, and carver.