Sherbourn or Sunfire?


I really appreciated everyone’s input here when I started getting into higher end audio! I have the urge to upgrade again and after allot of research I have come down to 2 amps that I am considering. I am also lost on a preprocessor. My budget would be around $1800 for both. The 2 amps I am considering are the Sherbourn 5/1500A & the Sunfire Cinema Grand 5x200W due to their warmer sound.

I have looked at the Outlaw 990 and the Sunfire Theater Grand for the pre. The only negative I have found with the Sunfire was that people thought it sounded really bright or thin, so this may not be the best solution with my Magnepans. No negatives on the Outlaw so far.

Anyone that would willing to share their experience with the amps and pre’s would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Gordon

Current equipment:
Pioneer Elite Receiver (Being Replaced)
Outlaw m200 Monoblocks (keeping for possible 7.1 system)
Magnepan MG12 (fronts)
Magnepan MGCC (center)
HSU HSRW12V (sub)
Acoustic Research (rears)
surfing4adeal
I have a Sunfire Theater Grand, it does not sound bright or thin at all...I would describe it's sound as, slightly dark (warmer....like the amps).

If you decide on the Sunfire units...use balanced cables between the two...it sounds a little better.

Mine is an older model though (Theater Grand II)....I bought it several years ago. Maybe the newer ones sound different?

Dave
Dave … Thanks for the input! The one that I liked best so far was the Theatre Grand II but was hesitant because of a few comments I found on the web and I plan to stay with the Magnepans.

I have been really happy with the Outlaw m200's so I have had a hard time deciding on a pre. Glad to hear it works well with your Apogees. Mainly looking at used so I can get more for the money.
I know ,I am not answering the question here but I believe you should look into the Proceed Amp-5 very nice five channel amp IMHO,however it is a little over the budget you specified,but worth it .The amp is a must with the Proceed PAVPDSD processors.
I've owned the Sunfire Cinema Grand 225 by 5 channels amp and magnepan 1.6's front and back and it is really boring definitely not bright or harsh... I would stick with your Outlaw amps as they are a SOLID 4ohm design which is perfect for Magnepans or get some ATI amps or other mosfet amps. The Sunfire gear is not truely differenial balanced in design, and I found no benefit spending more on balanced cables when I had mine.

I would skip the older Theater Grand processors (and almost all older models from other manufactures) because of the lack of HDMI 1.3a switching and newer surround modes (Dolby II rocks!)... if you could wait and maybe upgrade something else I think in 8 months there will be more options for processors that can strip off audio from HDMI (bluray, etc..). Hometheater Processors are like computers..... old technology is not a bargain (Exceptions would be the Proceed, Meridian, Theta, Anthem, and some of the other high end processors that have Dolby II but lack HDMI or or video switching.. These are still superior products.

The good thing about Sunfire gear is you can always sell it pretty easily especially on ebay. My friends older Sunfire receiver the processing chip died and that was an expensive repair, and his Sunfire Cinema Grand was wired wrong (one of the inverting inputs didn't work), and his replacement arrived with a dead channel and had to be opened up to reseat that amplifier board. My Sunfire had dirt in the display brand new from the factory and the lamp died 2 months later. Quality control is just not there when compared to Rotel, Adcom, and other similar priced brands.

But to answer you question between those two I would buy the Outlaw 990 hands down compared to the Sunfire processor, as I considered that before purchasing my Meridian (the new Integra 9.8 (HDMI 1.3a switching, HD audio from HD is built in and would make this an option I would have considered if it had been out) . Resale on the outlaw gear is quite excellent.