PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - Audiophiles...I caved under the pressure..

Probably the nicest thing in my arsenal is my subwoofer. I also have a Carver M-400 magnetic field amplifier which I LOVE!

The Sunfire True Subwoofer Mark II incorporates two Bob Carver patented technologies. First, there is the patented high-pressure subwoofer design, which allows for the unusually extreme output of low bass energy from such a physically small subwoofer. Second, there's is Bob's Tracking Downconverter power supply used in the 2700-watt amplifier, built internally into the True Sub Mark II. Using breakthrough technology in both speaker and amplifier design, Bob Carver and Sunfire have produced a subwoofer that has no competition in terms of performance versus size.

A U D I O F I L E

Review

A room full of bass....
Now, finally, realisation dawns upon an astounded ANTHONY LIM that smaller can also mean better ... and more

SO, you want some serious bass, eh? How about if I told you that you could have earth-shaking, stomach-churning low frequency notes capable of battering you to bits, at your beck and call, from a box so small, your eyes won't believe what your ears tell you?

TERROR OF THE DEEP ... the Sunfire True Sub MkII does those low blows great.
Do I hear a loud shuffle signifying interest? Oh yes, you can have all this and more, if you let the Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII turn those tricks for you. This little box, in all probability the most potent small sub currently available, is the deal done right. Uh, at a price, of course. All I'll say is this, be prepared to spend, and sign on the dotted line once you've heard this honey.

Features

It's not the biggest game you'll ever see, this slightly under a foot tall and wide square box. Indeed, physically, the Sunfire is one of the least imposing subs I've seen ... about the only hint of any firepower is in its weight--and it is darned heavy for its size--and the two eight-inch drivers that sit snugly in the enclosure, arranged opposed and firing away from each other in a push-pull configuration.

At the back of the unit, which incidentally totes a built-in 2,700 watt (talk about convection-ready) amp and a frequency response down to 18Hz, there are three setting adjustment dials, for volume/bass level (with marker positions to aid setup; these denote normal 0dB operation and +15dB boost), crossover frequency (markers at 35Hz, the normal 65Hz and 100Hz) and phase adjustment (from 0«-180«, with a 90« marker to denote normal setting in between).

Standard and high level inputs are provided, of the RCA line-in and five-way speaker binding post variety. Also included, a set of RCA-jack hi-pass outputs and a Flat/Video Contour setting switch that allows the user to--subtly--shape the scope of operation. Finally, the power cord is captive, and the unit comes with an external Sunfire 240-120 volt step-down transformer, which makes the unit a 120 volt job.

Performance

Performance comes at a price, and quality bass, as such, comes only when you're prepared to spend on something like the True Sub II. Which isn't to say that everything else below it in price is rubbish, but it's impossible to get bass this clean, lean and mean if you're not willing to fork out the moolah.

Oh yes, make no mistake about it, this is quality bass, with excellent dynamic sense and extension. Indeed, the last time I heard bass this good in my system from an active dog was what the M&K MX-100 turned out, and while I think that current upper-band M&Ks could easily give the Sunfire more than a run for the money, the point is that you can't clap your ears on any Miller & Kreisel stuff here at all, period. Which really makes the True Sub currently the only kid on the block for those looking for deep, tight and well defined bass (unless there's something else I don't know about floating around here).

More than anything, the Sunfire is class. A lot of what it does isn't attention-grabbing, at least not in the manner most listeners expect subwoofers to behave, and most of the lower-end--and some mid-end--stuff behave badly. There's none of that rumble and trundling air along like its life depended on it, so if it's chuffing, huffing and puffing you're looking for, the True Sub isn't gonna make it past first base with you. You'd dismiss it as being rather lightweight, really.

Ah, but if you can look beyond this scope, know the real nature of the beast, so to speak, then the beauty of this little box's workings are more than an earful to behold. This is bass as it's really meant to be, or so I think--Stygian, solid, contrasting and, most importantly, one you can sense as well as hear. It's been a long time since I've heard this kind of tactility in a sub.

This provides for a sonic canvas of immense character, one that appeals to the mental scope as well as the physical one. Soundtracks assume a different perspective, at once more dramatic and biting, though the real oyster is in how the broadening of scope, texture and feel emerges as you listen further; it is eminently immersive, and how.

Indeed, once suitably ranged in in terms of setup and position, not once did the Sunfire fail to impress doing Dolby Digital or DTS, its poise, extension and articulation--with a superb sense of speed--making each movie in my collection a rediscovery of sorts. Upstairs, I worked it with the resident Acoustat Spectra 2200 electrostatics. Again, the overall fundamentals were suitably aided by the introduction of the Sunfire, but I was more pleased to note that dialling it in to the Spectra took less time than usual, and that its integration characteristics was the best I'd heard in recent times.

Conclusion

Space, always the final frontier, has run out for me, so I'll say this: There's so much to love in this little Sunfire, you'd be missing out on all of it if you don't catch a listen. Ah, but here's the danger of this stranger; as I wrote at the beginning, be prepared to sign once you've been sucker punched; and you will be--well and truly. Recommended.

Model: Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII active subwoofer