Sunfire Cinema Grand, Signature, Theater Information

[TORI3]

I’ve been looking into buying a Sunfire Cinema this past month, but have been very confused on how to differentiate the models – After all, I wanna know what I’m buying (especially from ebay!). I can’t remember where I copied and pasted this from, but it could have been from the Carver forum.

This might help some of you future buyers!


Name Channels W/Ch. Total MSRP Year

300 2 300 600 $2,175.00 1996

Cinema grand 5 200 1000 $2,375.00 1996

600 2 600 1200 $2,995.00 1997

Signature I 2 600 1200 $3,195.00 1997

Cinema grand sig 5 400 2000 $3,750.00 2000

Series I 2 325 650 $2,595.00 2001

Signature II 2 625 1250 $3,495.00 2001

Cinema grand sig II 5 425 2125 $3,995.00 2001

Cinema grand II 5 225 1125 $3,995.00 2002

Symphonic Ref 2 250 500 $1,995.00 2003

Cinema 7 7 200 1400 $2,995.00 2003

Cinema 7 sig 7 400 2800 $3,995.00 2003

300-2 2 325 650 $2,595.00 2004

600-2 2 625 1250 $3,495.00 2004

Cinema grand 200-5 5 200 1000 $2,495.00 2004

Cinema grand 200-7 7 200 1400 $2,995.00 2004

Cinema grand 400-5 5 400 2000 $3,495.00 2004

Cinema grand 400-7 7 400 2800 $3,995.00 2004

TGA-5200 5 200 1000 $2,725.00 2006

TGA-5400 5 400 2000 $3,899.00 2006

TGA-7200 7 200 1400 $3,245.00 2006

TGA-7400 7 400 2800 $4,449.00 2006

TGA-7401 7 400 2800 $4,450.00 2008

TGA-7201 7 200 1400 $3,250.00 2009

[Outfitter03]

I have found it is hard to educate yourself on everything at once. It is best to narrow your search and then dig in depth on the models that meet your need and budget. Are you looking for 200 or 400 watts per channel? 5 or 7 channels? What is your budget? What type of speakers are you looking to drive and what is their impedance?

With this kind of information there are several Sunfire owners on this site that can help you. I have read all favorable reviews of these amps, especially for HT but also for music. Good luck in your quest.

[TORI3]

Hey Outfitter,

I've found which Sunfire I want to purchase, but I found the above graph helpful in educating myself in the different types of Sunfire models.

Sorry if it was confusing, the original post wasn't a question, it was merely a post for future Sunfire owners who were struggling with all the different types of Sunfire models.

[Sherardp]

I have the Sunfire TGA5200 and love it, scored it for 1475 new with shipping.

[Outfitter03]

So what model are you going to get TOR13 and what made you decide on that one? Are you looking at buying from Audigon or Ebay or are you going to buy new?

I am going to move in about 4 years and hope to setup a dedicated HT room. The Sunfire is on my short list also to buy at that time. I would love to read your posts on setup and review when you make your purchase. Please share.

[love2listen]

FWIW, I would like to add that, there is also the Architect's Choice Series. This is the 17" wide version of some of the above models.

[TORI3]

Love,

Thanks for pointing that out. Do you by chance know which years and models include the Architect's choice?

What we can do is make this an ongoing graph of the Sunfire models. I'll just update it when you guys throw me new information.

[TORI3]

So what model are you going to get TOR13 and what made you decide on that one? Are you looking at buying from Audigon or Ebay or are you going to buy new?

I am going to move in about 4 years and hope to setup a dedicated HT room. The Sunfire is on my short list also to buy at that time. I would love to read your posts on setup and review when you make your purchase. Please share.

Right now I'm looking at both Audiogon and Ebay. To be honest, all of the models seem pretty similar within their tiers (200 X 5, 400 X 5, 200 X 7, 400 X 7, 225 X 5, etc...).

For me, I'm looking at the 17" Architect 200 X 5 (or 7). I like the idea of the replaceable power cord that the original Cinema Grand doesn't offer. At the same time, it seems like there's a lot of Cinema Grands out on the market right now. Just from watching the For Sale sections of different forums, ebay, and Audiogon, the prices of the original Cinema Grand range from:

$550 w/ lots of scratches

to

$1200 from a solid seller on ebay

The best price I've seen was $680 for a really good condition Sunfire (and from a solid seller on ebay).

$700 - $800 seems to be the average at this point of time.

[Outfitter03]

Was the $1,200 price a buy it now or an auction price? The $700 to $800 sounds pretty affordable for a 5X200 system.

[Sherardp]

They sell pretty fast so if your looking for one and find one in the 700-800 price range, I say jump on it.

[TORI3]

Was the $1,200 price a buy it now or an auction price? The $700 to $800 sounds pretty affordable for a 5X200 system.

From what I remember it was pretty deep in a google search and was a Buy it Now from ebay. This may have been older than two years...but I'm not too sure.

[JuanR]

I have a Sunfire Cinema Grand 5 channel that I use to power 2 Lsi25's, an LsiC, and 2 LsiFX's and just simply LOVE it! This amp handles the LSI series very well and makes for a fantastic piece to have that does not loose too much value over time.