Price Paid:  $3200.00 from Big wampum stereo emporium

Summary:
Unbelievably great imaging, wonderful layering of soundstage depth and width and (most impressively) Height!
My Apogee Duettas have never sounded so dynamic! I have also heard this amp drive a set of Monoliths and I found it to be a very symbiotic match, controlling the beasts in their owner's estimation better than the Crown Macro Reference he was using at the time.

Strengths:
Absolutely flawless to my ears. It's effortlessness is unsettling to those who aren't accustomed to hearing "non-electronic sounding electronics. It literally disappears.

Weaknesses:
None that I can discern other than no friggin' Power switch.

Similar Products Used:
Mac MC1000,Adcom 5802,

Summary:
I compared the Sunfire Signature with the Musical Fidelity A3cr, and it was no contest. The MF is much faster, detailed, lively, and smooth. I cannot agree more with a reviewer that said the Sunfire made the speakers sound as if they were within carton boxes. In fact, I said the same thing earlier today, before reading that review. When I switched to the Sunfire, my girlfriend, who was in the other room, immediately shouted "What happened?" She composes classical music and has a terrific ear (much better than mine). She was even more adamant against the Sunfire than I was. I also agree with those who said it does not provide a high end experience. It lacks detail and delicacy.

There was only one area where the Sunfire beat the A3cr: bass. Even so, I did not find the bass of the Sunfire fully convincing. But I admit this could be due to the deficiencies of my speakers in this area. The A3cr is rated at 120W/channel into 8 ohms and can be "bridged" as it has outputs on the back that you can connect to the other channel's input. Since the A3cr costs $1600, maybe one could get better bass by buying a pair and using one to drive each channel, and still be at a reasonable cost level. I don't know if that would provide enough bass, but I know I would not buy the Sunfire.

I have not tried biwiring. I tried both the current and voltage outputs in the Sunfire. I also tried the normal and lab inputs. Could not hear much difference between all those. Most of the listening was done with current/normal.

The A3cr's are loaners. My VTL 300s are out for retubing. I will post a review comparing those when the VTL's are back.

Equipment:
Cheap Sony DVD player (as transport)
Perpetual Technologies PA-3 DAC (my PA-1 went bust and is being fixed)
Wireworld and Straightwire interconnects
Tara Labs speaker cables
Martin Logan Aerius i speakers

Strengths:
Power

Weaknesses:
Opaque sound, slow, disappointing bass

Similar Products Used:
Musical Fidelity A3cr

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from online

Summary:
Please note: that this review is of the "Signature" amplifier. (borrowed for a short time prior to online used purchase,Thanks Jack!)
Basically, this is to offset that ridiculous "ping" posted right before me (though elementary statistics will tell you
that it doesn't really work, which is why it happens in the first place).
The only amps that MIGHT control a persnickety speaker load better than this amp does in stereo are the Mac and Krell mono blocks. If you buy two of these and bridge 'em(I assume they'll bridge, but WHY?) my guess (I admit I haven't bought a second yet, as the folks in neighboring towns don't appreciate their lights browning out to the distant sound of the Telarc 1812)is the Sunfire product will kill those as well. Check out the TAS reviews of both units. For once right on target. Even though to my ears they make too big a deal of Bob's engineered "Gundry dip", probably just to discourage him from talking so much. (They really seem to hate that, though they should stop, because,it's precisely what they do for a living) If they could design a Class A (quality, not class of operations)amplifier(turning their reaction to the Carver challenge back on them)then WHY DON"T THEY? The last amp I plan to buy. One for the ages.
Or to summarize to "Whomever": Sunfire make good sound. detail,soundstage
super-duper,output stage has really big swinging ding-dong er, I mean voltage/current. Not sure Sunfire amp made before 1995. Have you bought the right device? Not Sunn? or Sunbeam? Or even Sunkist?(TAS reviewed late '96 and '99) Please think before speak! :)

Strengths:
Everything. No sonic weaknesses that I can discern. NE PLUS ULTRA. There is an engineered Gundry dip of less than a db around or just above 1k, But I can't hear it and if Bob had just kept his yap shut I'm sure just about nobody would've noticed it.

Weaknesses:
No #$%@&& Power Switch! Also, I miss the Lightstar watt meters but I guess the concept of actually running out of headroom on this amp is pretty much a joke. Your speakers will cry out loud for mercy if pushed too hard by this amp. And you better believe it won't be from Square waves.

Similar Products Used:
Mac, Krell etc.

Summary:
This is a review for both the stereo and 5-channel Sunfire.
It makes bad sound. It doesn't make music. Low output, lots of hum. I can't go into control, speed, detail, musicality,
presence, soundstaging or layering, because it doesn't do any of those things. Not even if you put an Audio Research
Ref.1 or a Levinson in front of it. Sad but true, move on.

Strengths:
looks

Similar Products Used:
Sim W3, W5, Any Audio Research or Threshold, McIntosh 7200,
McIntosh 7205, 7104, 7106, 7108, CARY CAD 500-T, Sim Audio
HT-5, Parasound 2205, Adcom 7500, Citation, EAD PowerMaster 500 and 1000, Krell KAV-3 and 5, ATI 1505, Musical Fideliy,
Denon, Marantz, and Parasound THX monoblocks, etc, etc..

Summary:
I have to amend my previous posting! The review I gave was for the 600 WATT STEREO AMPLIFIER - Which is in fact the ONLY "SIGNATURE" VERSION of this Sunfire stereo amp - The standard version is 300 watts per channel as it states above - and it may well sound great in a vertical bi-wire, mono configuration also.

BUT TO ACHIEVE THE RESULTS I EXPERIENCED, BE CERTAIN YOU ARE LISTENING TO THE REAL "SIGNATURE" VERSION!!!! 2x600 WATTS!!!!