Ethan Winer
September 10th 03, 03:10 PM
Folks,
As some of you know, over the past few months I've been setting up a home
theater in my living room. I recently installed substantial acoustic
treatment including bass traps, added a 5.1 receiver with more loudspeakers,
and made other improvements like floating the main speakers on rigid
fiberglass to avoid structural transmission for a flatter low end response.
The last detail was getting a decent subwoofer. My wife's McIntosh speakers
are nearly 20 years old, yet they are still excellent and flat down to about
60 Hz. But a modern system should be able to reproduce accurately down to at
least 30 Hz - thus began the quest for that lowest octave.
After trying several brands I bought a Carver Sunfire (photo:
www.ethanwiner.com/misc-content/sunfire.jpg) and it is simply one of the
coolest things I have ever owned. I rarely blab about my audio gear, but
this box is truly significant.
First, it's not a loudspeaker as much as a piston. It's controlled by a
digital switching power amp having enormous output power. The box is only 11
inches cubed, yet the primary driver's physical displacement is a staggering
three inches. No matter how hard you try you simply cannot keep your hand on
the cone at high levels. It's like being struck with a jack hammer. I've
also measured the response and played sine waves. I couldn't verify the 16
Hz lower limit claimed - the cone looked right though I heard only wind -
but it kicks serious butt at 25 Hz.
Of course none of that is relevant - all that matters is the sound. Well,
for the last several nights I have spent HOURS in front of my system,
playing music VERY loudly, yelling over and over, "This is unbelievable!"
And so it is. If you are at all interested in subwoofers, you need to
experience this sub for yourself. It will rock your world as it has mine.
--Ethan [not affiliated in any way with Carver]
As some of you know, over the past few months I've been setting up a home
theater in my living room. I recently installed substantial acoustic
treatment including bass traps, added a 5.1 receiver with more loudspeakers,
and made other improvements like floating the main speakers on rigid
fiberglass to avoid structural transmission for a flatter low end response.
The last detail was getting a decent subwoofer. My wife's McIntosh speakers
are nearly 20 years old, yet they are still excellent and flat down to about
60 Hz. But a modern system should be able to reproduce accurately down to at
least 30 Hz - thus began the quest for that lowest octave.
After trying several brands I bought a Carver Sunfire (photo:
www.ethanwiner.com/misc-content/sunfire.jpg) and it is simply one of the
coolest things I have ever owned. I rarely blab about my audio gear, but
this box is truly significant.
First, it's not a loudspeaker as much as a piston. It's controlled by a
digital switching power amp having enormous output power. The box is only 11
inches cubed, yet the primary driver's physical displacement is a staggering
three inches. No matter how hard you try you simply cannot keep your hand on
the cone at high levels. It's like being struck with a jack hammer. I've
also measured the response and played sine waves. I couldn't verify the 16
Hz lower limit claimed - the cone looked right though I heard only wind -
but it kicks serious butt at 25 Hz.
Of course none of that is relevant - all that matters is the sound. Well,
for the last several nights I have spent HOURS in front of my system,
playing music VERY loudly, yelling over and over, "This is unbelievable!"
And so it is. If you are at all interested in subwoofers, you need to
experience this sub for yourself. It will rock your world as it has mine.
--Ethan [not affiliated in any way with Carver]