If you couldnt run Sunfire what would you run?

Don't forget about the older Harman Kardons.
They can push allot of current and sound great. They run a little warm though !

Parasound C1/C2

Mcintosh

......allready said HK

when I started years ago it was a toss-up between HK and Carver, glad now that carver won out, way more models and technology................

I used to do most of my reacearch and comparisons with....Sound and Vision, (most comprehensive magazine of all time listed all manufacturers , their equipment models, specs, and sugg. retail prices) their yearly manufacturers condensed lists, preamps, amps, cdp, tuners, turntables, speaker systems, everything audio,.. etc..........still have some older issues 84 to 96, just guessing at the moment with memory....

Be a part of John Curls team at Parasound...

Odyssey Stratos. Personally, I prefer it over the Sunfires.

Did I just say that?

Even when it takes months to warm up?

Hehe, yes. It's worth it.

[EDIT:] Oooops! I didn't realize that I already posted in this thread until now. The Odyssey is a stereo amp, not an HT. Sorry 'bout that.

Well, if cost is no object, then it would be the following, in order of preference:

For AV or HT preamps, it would be Lexicon, Krell, or Balanced Audio Technology (BAT).

For amps, it would be Spectral, Audio Research or Bryston for SS, or Cary or AtmaSpherefor tubes.


If I were on a budget, it would be an Emotiva preamp, and AES SixPack monoblock tube amps, or maybe Vincent gear all around.


If I couldn't have Martin Logan speakers though, I'd sell it all, and get a REALLY good CD player and a Benchmark DAC-1 Pre, and a pair of Stax SR-007 Omega II electrostatic headphones, and just forget all about silly things like amps, cables, and speakers...

--Richard

Hehe, yes. It's worth it.

[EDIT:] Oooops! I didn't realize that I already posted in this thread until now. The Odyssey is a stereo amp, not an HT. Sorry 'bout that.

The amount of channels an amp has makes do different in HT application. I have a 5.1 syste that is by all abouts pretty decent, and half my amps are 1 channel (mono blocks). The other two are stereo. Personally, I think the more amplifier chassis one has in his rig, the better...

--Richard

For HT I would go with the Meridian 861 reference. It is a lot of money but it sounds amazing.

Don't forget about the older Harman Kardons.
They can push allot of current and sound great. They run a little warm though !

no problem....purchase a nice 12 or 14 inch decorative oscillating 3 or 4 speed fan, silent running.....set it off to the side.........

circulates your room air...and the gentle breeze,....cools all your equipment......works great and in cooler months helps the gas bill ....now that's perfect...
"ya hoo!"

Don't forget about the older Harman Kardons.
They can push allot of current and sound great. They run a little warm though !

I'm with you on the old HK gear! Even though I don't have Sunfire gear if I had to do something other than what I have now I would go one of two ways.

1. My old Magnepan Tympani 1d's run with several old school HK Citation amps. or

2. If I came into some serious $$$ I would try a pair of Linn Komri's (only $40,000 a pair) set up with one of their killer disc players like a Unidisk or similar all powered with PS Audio re-generators and cables. I think that set up could get me by until my Wave Radio shows up.

Rainman

I found that, before I got my TGP-III and had only a Yamaha HT receiver, it got markedly better when I used all Carver amps, rather than using any of the internal amplification. I had my C-500 on the ribbons, my A-500x on the bass of the AL-IIIs, my M-500 on the surrounds and a bridged M-400 on the center. However good it was for HT, it wasn't very musical with CDs, probably because the DACs in my DVD player (pre-Oppo) were crap, and the ones in the Yammie were no better.

I have read several "good" reviews on the ATI amps.