Sunfire Tru Sub Mark IV fix or not?

Remove the amp and just ship that part. It's only a few screws you have to take out and then undo the wires that hook up to the drivers.

Kevin, how did this work out for you? I'm in the same boat...something's wrong with my sunfire.

I would not bother trying to get it fixed. Too much of a hassle, if I were you I would just sell it for parts, that's what I did with my Sunfire MK II.

Yes, I will probably do so unless anyone knows of a repair shop in So. California that might be able to repair it.

If not, I live close to Hsu so may go over there and buy one. Any suggestions of which model to get?

Can't really go wrong with a Hsu, so I'd say get whatever you can afford and have room for. Sonically, you'll never regret going big, IMHO.

Not knowing your room size and preferences, the VTF-15H is their flagship sub, and is a beast.

You might want to go there and talk to them and they have a demo room.
My two favorites are the VTF-15H and the VTF3MK4.

Thanks all for the feedback. Yes, I plan to go to Hsu and take a listen.

I am considering the VTF-15H, ULS 15, or VTF-3 Mk4. I assume that any of these will provide bass comparable or better than my Sunfire?

My room is carpeted with 10' ceiling and about 14'x13', however the dining room is attached and is open to this room and is about 10' x 12'. My receiver is a Denon AVR-891 and I primarily use this for home theater. I was quite happy with the sound from the Sunfire which I think I've had for probably 12 years before it became terminally ill, so it lived a good life :-)

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

All of those subs will offer both greater output and superior definition to the Sunfire. Since you can actually visit Hsu, you have a massive advantage over most buyers. Let your ears do the picking. Any of the subs you've listed would be suitable for your size room. The nice thing about Hsu, is they have never been into fancy presentations when demonstrating their products. In my experience it's always a very real world, truly affordable setup similar to what the average buyer might have. No $50,000 rig or ultra treated room used to show off an $800 sub or any such thing.

woohoo, more output and superior definition! I like the sound of that! Thanks for the feedback.

So I went over to Hsu HQ today at lunch.....and well, you know how this story ends, right? Leo spent a lot of time with my friend and me and I got to hear the two subs I was most interested in, the VTF 15H and the VTF3MK4. Both sounded incredible and the rosenut finish was a pleasant surprise and looked better than expected. Although the VTF15 seemed huge compared to my Sunfire, the output was just no comparison. I loaded it up and took it home with me. Have it unpacked and hooked up and I just played a few parts of Avatar and it is really amazing.

Anyone want to buy the Sunfire for parts?

Haha, congratulations! A nice, huge step up.

As a current Sunfire TruSub owner (still working, but hums at times) I have to say I am jealous. While I still enjoy the output of the Sunfire, I can't imagine what the HSU sounds like...

There is no replacement for displacement!:-)

I just got my Sunfire True Subwoofer MK II repaired by Carver Audio Service (used to be Rita's Vintage Audio) for a flat rate of $282 plus shipping both ways. Turnaround was one week. The problem was a loud hum and it would not go into standby mode.

The amp is quiet with no hum. Played back Super 8 last night. I forgot how loud the Sunfire was (I did not use it for two years). Everything in the room was shaking and bouncing during the train crash scene.

The Sunfire replaced a Polk PW650. The Sunfire definitely goes deeper but is noticeably flabby sounding in the deep end compared to the Polk. In some ways, I prefer the Polk since it sounded tighter but it lacked the bottom end.

I am awaiting a Def Tech Supercube 6000 which I ordered. I will compare it with the Sunfire when I get it in...

Bah! After six weeks of light use, my Sunfire True Subwoofer Mark II amp is having the exact same issue when I sent it up... The sub is fine until I plug a line into the input. A loud 60Hz hum. I called Carver and they said just put a line isolator between the sub and line input. I am not sure if I should just send it back to fix it under warranty. It was fine for about a month and now this. I can hardly wait as I have a DefTech Supercube 6000 coming in this Thursday or Friday.

If you spent money to fix it (get rid of the hum), the hum was gone for a month and then returned I find their response unacceptable. So you paid $282 + shipping to be told to use a line isolator?
Tell them you want it fixed under warranty or a refund of your $282.
Tim

I wouldn't bother with it, just get your money and the sub back and sell it for parts.

I have a dead MK II. It blew the caps. I ran it off an exteral amp until I bought my Outlaw LFM-1EX.

When my sub still worked, I had to use a ground adapter. You know, those $3 items you buy at Home Depot for houses built before 3 prong plugs existed. I was a sound engineer for a long time, use of those is almost mandatory many times in clubs with ground issues. You can accomplish the same thing by just cutting off the ground (round) part of your 3 prong plug, if you don't want to spend a few bucks on the adapter. In fact, my Outlaw's cable doesn't have the ground prong. This is really common...

I do plan on using my Sunfire again someday, but it'll be externally powered again. I was using one channel of a Rotel 5 channel amp, but 100wpc isn't going to rattle the house. Probably pick up a used Crown or QSC amplifier somewhere next time.

It's gotta be the sub amp... I do not have this problem when I plug in my Polk subs back in the system...

Well, I used a line isolator as well as lifting the ground on the AC plug. Neither worked... The sub amps gonna go back...

I owned the Sunfire for 10 years before it crapped out. In my opinion its too much of a hassle to repair.

Wow first time I agree with Auditor.

I ended up buying a Hsu sub. My sunfire is sitting in the garage gathering dust. If anyone in So. Calif. wants to buy it off me for parts and pick it up, let me know.

I sent the plate amp and got it back a week before Carver shut down their repair service. They changed the ground from the plate to the true ground (AC cord). The hum is gone but the sub doesn't sound the same... the output has been reduced by quite a bit. The sub used to shake everything in the room. Now it sounds like any other sub...

You can do like I did with my MKII, modify it. I cut off the power cord, and converted one of the high level input jacks to directly power the driver. I'm using a Rotel amp I had sitting around, but if I had to spend a few bucks I'd get the big Behringer EP4000 and run it in bridged mono. $343 from Amazon, and no more Sunfire amp issues.

I have the MKII in the bedroom now, it got replaced a couple of years ago with an Outlaw LFM-1EX. No looking back. Sure, the Outlaw is way bigger, but it also is better in every way.


Edited by TornadoTJ - 10/22/12 at 8:52pm