Sunfire TGA-7401 and 7900?

First off, let me beat others to the punch and issue the first strike: In January of this year I was toying around with replacing my Outlaw 770. Decided to keep it after solving a ground loop problem and a few conversations with Outlaws who extolled the virtues of the 770 (and I agree - great amp and bulletproof so far). It is now April - and I am thinking "Boy, the 7900 and the Sunfire TGA-7401 sure do look nice!" OK. I am an idiot. I said it.

Given that admission, has anyone here heard both units? Frankly, if I do decide to do the dumb thing and replace the 770 (that is not a certainty by a long shot) I am very much leaning towards the Outlaw for many reasons, not the least of which is outstanding service after the sale. Some of the tech on the Sunfire seems a bit gimicky to the non-physicist, but I have owned Carver amps in the distant past and they were fine amplifiers. If I had to decide today, I would go with the Outlaw. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Mike

Hmmm. Sunfires not too popular around here I guess. I did learn from a Sunfire authorized dealer that his info is that Sunfire will soon no longer be manufacturing amplifiers. Can't vouch for the veracity of that statement but have seen references to it elsewhere on the web as well.

Not making amps anymore would steer me away from them.

My thought exactly.

This maybe a late post but I would not even think twice in choosing a Sunfire over an Outlaw for power, especially the 7900. I myself have owned no less than 5 Carver amplifiers in the past and they were good units for what they were. They did not possess the solid performance of an Outlaw, namely the 7500 which I just bought, but Carver were good. Sunfire would be better but I feel that Sunfire is a "too good to be true" amplifiers. Outlaws are heavy and hardcore with no pretense to them. If you can land a 7900 go ahead buy one and throw your back out as well. Make sure that you have plenty of Advil or Robaxacet when your unit arrives.

I came to the same conclusion. I could not justify giving up my trusty 770 for the Sunfire. I am holding off on the 7900 as well because frankly I don't think I will notice any real difference between the 7900 and the 770 in my system. Now, if the 770 gives up the ghost (or if the 7900 has a great sale here) I might just be tempted!

The Black Friday sale was too much to resist. Just bought the 7900. I am pumped. Now if LSU can pull it off against Arkansas my day will be perfect!

Well, needless to say my day is perfect!

I did as well!

Outstanding! What amp did you replace? Just curious.

A Model 750. :-) Looking forward to getting it, even though I probably won't hook it up until the 978 is released, purchased and received.

I finally went ahead and got an Integra DHC-80.1. Had been waiting ever since they announced the successor to the 990 (which I do own) but finally could wait no longer. Figure by the time the 998 is ready I will be in the market again. I do not have your patience and will try to set it up this Saturday if it gets here by then.

Yeah, I completely understand. I'd contemplated the Marantz 7005 since I had a Marantz receiver I really enjoyed, but decided to wait for what I really wanted. Post back on here once you get it hooked up and let me know what you think. I bet it will be awesome! Good talking to you. Congrats on your purchase! Maybe it'll come in and I'll go ahead and hook mine up. Who knows.

Mike,
I was curious if you've received your amp yet.

Nope. Not yet. Was told it is scheduled to ship tomorrow (Wednesday). Speaker wires all banana plugged. New balanced cables in. Ready to rock.

Awesome! Let me know please! When I talked to them about mine Friday, they said 3-5 business days before it shipped. I may end up taking a couple days off once the speakers and amp come in to disassemble everything/setup. I can't go balanced until the 978 comes out.

Well, almost the end of the day and no shipping notice yet. Expected shipping date was today. Will hopefully hear something tomorrow.

Yeah, trying to hold on till tomorrow to hopefully receive one myself. Tomorrow would be 5 business days since she said probably 3-5 business days. I did get my cables yesterday for the 7.1 outputs from the BDP-93 to the 950. Already had cables for the amp, so just waiting now. Figure I'll configure this way until the 978 is released.

Can't say that I would want to take it off the truck at 143 lbs. If they do show up while you are there, you may want to oversee the unloading.

Got word that they are backordered and won't start shipping til next week.

Myself as well.

Heard anything yet, my friend?

No sir, I have not. Not since the email stating they were hoping to start shipping again early this week.

Just learned my 7900 is shipping today! Much joy in the Durand household ... well, at least in one part of the Durand household.

Got my notice as well about 20 minutes ago. With any luck it'll be arriving Friday since I'm already working from home for another shipment. :-)

My Fed-X estimated arrival date is Monday. Oh well ... at least its on its way!

Mike, I got mine Friday and put in place. Finished hooking it up yesterday. Letting it go through a break in period (not sure if this is necessary or not), but using it last night, I really liked it. Hope to do more listening today. It's an absolute beast to move. Glad it resides at the floor level in a rack. :-)

I am very jealous! Can't wait til mine gets here tomorrow. Mine resides on the bottom rack as well. My 770 is being evicted tomorrow. Let me know how the initial sound sessions go!

Mike

(Imagine Hallelujah Chorus playing loudly in the background) - It is here and it is in! Not much chance to experience it yet. Took only an hour to replace the 770 with this huge amp. (Had 2 weight-lifting young men from my office over to help - good thing - it would have killed me!). Did not use the balanced cables I bought as I am using an Audio Control Bijou in the system and kept the RCA hookups to preserve it in the system (I use it to tone down any harshness expecially in the center chammel). First sound check check was fine - all channels playing - no buzz or hum! Demo'd a few scenes from Avatar. First subjective response: center channel extremely clean and clear. Separation and soundstage enhanced! I am trying to remember that I WANT to hear a difference, and that may be playing a role. I will be listening a great deal over the weekend and that may give me a better opportunity to appreciate the new addition - will see. I do not have the test equipment to do a technical review, and will not be doing A-B testing. All I can say is that for now all of my subjective expectations have been met, and we have removed the plates from the mantlepiece over the fireplace in the theater room. More to follow.

It's great isn't it! I had to move mine alone. Not a fun or easy task. :-) I can't do technical and won't be doing A-B comparisons either, but after the short time with it, my impression is airy for the power and extremely, over the top, powerful... Checked out the depth charge scene from U-571 last night and was blown away! Literally! I'm also getting used to a new complete Axiom speaker system, so there were a couple big changes.

Quick question for anyone who might be able to assist. I have the 7900 plugged into a dedicated 20 amp circuit and a 15 amp circuit that I just figured out also powers can lights in my room. I've developed a hum from the center speaker when the dimmer is not all the way down. The back of my equipment is not very accessible but I have found that wiggling some certain wire(s) gets rid of the hum for a short period, but it returns. I will be taking things apart again this weekend to add the SR 5005 for now until the 978 is released. I will try to determine at that time what wire(s) is actually affecting the hum. Does this sound like anything switching to balanced cables might address? Thanks in advance.

Dimmers are notorious sources of interference. Balanced cables generally have superior insulation, so they might help.

Thanks!

Sounds like a loose connection. Balanced connections are much more secure and able to reject interference due to their design. Make sure all the connections in the receptacles are tight. Hums usually come in to play when the ground planes between two components are different which allows current to flow through the ground. Even though both circuits are grounded at the main panel there could still be differences due to bad connections.

Thanks XenonMan, the equipment is not easily accessible and I'll be breaking things down, hooking things back up this weekend once the SR 5005 gets here. Still waiting for the 978! I really appreciate the input sir. How do you like the Harmony ONE? I've got a pronto, but am thinking seriously about getting something that is easier to program. Thinking of getting a remote that I don't have to spend weeks to get in order.

Been gone from here for a while and still have not put the 7900 through its paces. Perhaps Sunday. Hit 60 years old yesterday and my wife, who has been absolutely fabulous about my indefensible audio/video habit, surprised me with a gloss black 2012 Dodge Challenger R/T 5.7L Hemi 6-speed manual transmission, sunroof and testosterone injection. Suddenly 60 seems much easier than I thought it would be! Been fiddling around with the Home Theater much less than I usually do!

I had a Pronto and it was certainly very sophisticated and programmable. However, moved to the Harmony One and then the Harmony 1100 and I am quite pleased with the 1100. I think the One will suit you just fine. Both are so much easier to program than the Pronto when we go through the audio upgrade bug.

Thanks for the input Mike! Happy belated birthday to you! I bet that's an awesome car! Sounds like you have a wonderful wife!

She's a dream! Amp makes me feel 5 years younger. Car had me feeling like I was in diapers for a couple of hours! Let me know if oyu go with the Logitech and if so, which model. Happy New Years!

I have had my Harmony for two+ years and it is probably the best $$$ I have spent on my system. It is easy to program and allows everyone to use the system without any trouble. If something doesn't work just press the help button and it gets fixed.

Thanks XenonMan! I have a Logitech I use in my bedroom that I think works great, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure the model number. To both of you, I went ahead and ordered the Harmony ONE this morning with 1 day shipping, so I should have it tomorrow. I've added it to my list of to-do's this weekend. Thanks to both of you for providing your input.

XenonMan, it was a loose connection. Found it when disassembling stuff. Tearing things apart and putting things back together to put in the SR5005 until the 978 is released. I also got the Harmony One today. My guess is it will be at least late tomorrow afternoon before I'm done. Not in a rush.... At this point, over the last 6 months, I've made so many modifications I'm just ready for everything to be in place and work... There are worse problems though. :-)

I actually use my Harmony ONE throughout the house to control all of my HT/audio equipment. I don't see a reason to have more than the one remote but my better half won't let it go out of her sight for very long.

Retired the 950. Digging the SR5005, along with the 7900. Have a few more kinks to work out. For some reason trying to run the Velodyne SMS-1 through the VCR input, the projector doesn't recognize there's a signal. Have it set to upconvert to 1080P, which is what the Epson 8700UB native is. Also, liking the Harmony One for a simple to setup and use remote. Still need to work out why it's not powering off the projector. 8700UB takes hitting power twice to shutdown, unless there's a setting I'm missing. I haven't lived with the Harmony long enough to see if there are things I'll miss. If so, once the 978 comes out, I'll take the time to do the Pronto. But all in all, I'm digging the high-def audio and being able to leave it on a single HDMI input. Glad I had no issues with the run length as I saw someone else did. Mine's a 35 ft. cable I believe and no issues. After running the Audysey setup in 6 positions, to me the back surrounds are a little loud for the second row of seating, but I'll adjust that. Really enjoying the system! Still looking for the 978, even though now, I'll probably wait for a while to pick one up. Ready to see what the response and opinions are.