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User's Manual

5

Your Sunfire Subwoofer is designed to

give you the best possible low-frequency
sound quality for your home theater
experience. It incorporates a tremen-
dously powerful built-in amplifier and a
pair of drivers to produce tight, floor-
rumbling bass down to 22 Hz, that you
can feel as well as hear.

The subwoofer has an adjustable high

cut filter and a choice of speaker-level or
line-level inputs for easy incorporation
into existing systems, or as part of a
subwoofer/satellite speaker combination.

The Woofer

To have lots of bass requires moving

lots of air. Your Sunfire Subwoofer
incorporates two drivers that can move
back and forth approximately five times
more than a normal subwoofer. This
gives it a lot of air moving capacity
which allows for majestic bass perfor-
mance.

Two drivers share the acoustic output.

Sometimes one driver appears to be
moving more than the other. They both
move the same amount only when
operating at the limit of their excursion
and power output, or when bass
requirements and music requirements
demand maximum output from the
system. Otherwise, the power is shared
between the two drivers in a way that
depends on the momentary amplitude
and the momentary musical spectrum. It
is normal for one or the other to move
more or less than its mate during
operation.

On the driver to the left of the control

panel there is a slight bump, under
which is a pressure cap. The bump is
normal. The driver on the right is
absolutely flat and very rugged. The one
with the slight bump is not quite as
rugged, and modest care should be
taken with it, though it is still very strong.
During installation, you should position
the driver with the bump towards a
protected side.

The Amplifier

The large movement range of the

drivers creates greater air pressure
inside the box than a conventional
woofer. Therefore, the drive amplifier
must be much more powerful than an
ordinary woofer amplifier. In fact, it has
to be so powerful that it is almost hard to
believe.

The power amplifier within your Sunfire

Subwoofer is capable of delivering over
1,500 watts into a 4.6 ohm resistor (the
voice coil resistance of the subwoofer’s
driver). When the same full output is
applied to the driver, however, the
enormous back-electromotive force
generated as a consequence of its large
motion and giant magnet causes the
current flow to be much less than if it
were a 4.6 ohm resistor. It is this singular
property of the driver that allows the
woofer to be approximately ten times
more efficient than a woofer this size
would normally be. Hence, the actual
average input power is substantially less
than 1,500 watts, and is approximately
120 watts for most musical material on
the loudest passages.

A compressor circuit kicks in automati-

cally if the input signal level reaches a
level that would overload the driver. This
maintains a ceiling on the output without
clipping.

If the input signal is driven even

further, a ‘soft clipping’ circuit is enabled.
This allows the woofer to put more sound
into the room to satiate the power hungry
user, but without distortion or damage to
the woofer. Thus, for explosive scenes in
movies, this produces extremely high
sound pressure levels (SPL) in your
room without the woofer banging against
its mechanical stops.

If you would like more detailed

information regarding the subwoofer
design, please call us and we will send
you a copy of our subwoofer technical
white paper, or you can view it on our
website: www.sunfire.com.

Overview

Summary of Contents for True Subwoofer Super Junior

Page 1: ......

Page 2: ...connected to a power supply only of the type described in these operation instructions or as marked on the Component 9 Power Cord Protection Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked upon or pinched by items placed upon or against them paying particular attention to cords at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit the Component 10 Cleaning The...

Page 3: ...onfigurations 11 Adjusting the controls 15 Specifications 16 Troubleshooting guide 17 Limited warranty 19 Service assistance 19 Contents To find out more about this and other Sunfire products please visit our website www sunfire com This apparatus does not exceed the Class A Class B whichever is applicable limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus as set out in the radio interference...

Page 4: ...able volume level control Soft clipping circuit allows graceful overload and prevents speaker damage due to clipping Gold plated inputs and outputs Dear Friend Thank you for purchasing my Sunfire True Subwoofer Super Junior I hope you enjoy it and the music it makes as much as I have enjoyed creating it for you The big breakthrough features of the subwoofer are its uncanny tracking downconverter a...

Page 5: ...should position the driver with the bump towards a protected side The Amplifier The large movement range of the drivers creates greater air pressure inside the box than a conventional woofer Therefore the drive amplifier must be much more powerful than an ordinary woofer amplifier In fact it has to be so powerful that it is almost hard to believe The power amplifier within your Sunfire Subwoofer i...

Page 6: ...n turn the Bass Level control up by about the same amount This increases the low bass output while leaving the mid bass output the same 3 Phase Control This control changes the relative phase of the subwoofer with respect to your other speakers Use this control to help blend the subwoofer with the rest of your system This is accomplished by adjusting the control in small incre ments as you listen ...

Page 7: ...eaker Level inputs to the speaker level outputs of your amplifier or receiver using speaker wire The binding posts can accept bare wire banana dual banana or spade connections Your amplifier or receiver MUST have common grounded outputs or it will be damaged if connected to the subwoofer s Speaker Level inputs 7 Line Fuse The subwoofer is supplied with a conservative 4 amp slow blow type fuse to p...

Page 8: ...gy allowing it to adhere solidly to the floor To move the woofer along the floor rotate it onto one edge and it will slide along easier Heat rise Allow adequate ventilation around the metal control panel of the subwoofer Do not let anything come into contact with the panel and keep at least two inches away from any walls The metal control plate serves as the amplifier heat sink and also as a condu...

Page 9: ... be fully shielded and as short as possible for the job The longest cable in your system will likely be to the subwoofer so choose a good quality brand Some patch cords can be a very tight fit and there is usually a preferred method of getting them off Some have to be removed with a twisting action Be gentle or you may damage the jacks of the subwoofer or your other compo nents Speaker Level conne...

Page 10: ...ur subwoofer s performance Moving the subwoofer from one corner to another can have a major effect on the bass response Remember to keep it at least two or three feet away from any TV screen computer VCR or magnetic tapes and discs This will reduce the chance of the magnetic fields upsetting the TV screen or erasing your magnetic media Also position the control panel so that it is not touching any...

Page 11: ...th a sub LFE output can be connected in the same way The subwoofer will play the low frequency range and the other speakers will play the frequency range delivered to them by your amplifier If you have a home theater preamplifier it may have an independent subwoofer volume control Make sure this is correctly adjusted and that the Sunfire Subwoofer s crossover frequency is set to 100 Hz This is by ...

Page 12: ... L R bass The opening scene in Top Gun for example has loads of L R bass information If this is not preserved the bass in these scenes sounds anemic The Sunfire Subwoofer utilizes differential gain on the left and right inputs to retain both the L R and L R information Therefore systems which do not have a dedicated sub LFE output should use both the left and the right inputs as shown for the grea...

Page 13: ...ur amplifier and front speakers will play the frequency range above the subwoofer s fixed high pass crossover point The signals coming out of the subwoofer s high pass outputs are not affected by any of the controls They are just a copy of the signals going in except that the low bass is filtered out This uses the subwoofer s passive crossover network rather than the active network and controls PR...

Page 14: ...action of your receiver s power is transferred to the subwoofer There is no need to use the Speaker Level inputs if you are using a separate amplifier and preamplifier Such systems are best connected using the Line Level inputs as shown in the previous diagrams If you are using the Line Level inputs and there is a excessive amount of noise or hum present using the Speaker Level inputs may yield a ...

Page 15: ...will do fine as will the Stereophile test CD Step 1 Disconnect the subwoofer and run the main speaker with a tone in its passband 80 100Hz Measure the level Step 2 Disconnect the main speaker and reconnect the subwoofer Set the subwoofer to its highest crossover frequency Set the level control of the subwoofer to give the same sound pressure level with the same tone you used in Step 1 Adjusting th...

Page 16: ...me control fully clockwise 0 48Vrms from right input with volume control at 0dB 180mVrms with volume control fully clockwise Input impedance 30KΩ for Line Level inputs 5 6KΩ for Hi Level inputs Driver Extra large magnet and long throw mechanical design yield very high back emf The result is extraordinarily high operating efficiency that is more acoustic output for each watt of input Internal syste...

Page 17: ...tween the driver and the wall Home theater preamplifiers usually have a way of adjusting the level of the subwoofer LFE output either using a remote control or with a small volume knob on the back panel Make sure that this is adjusted correctly If the preamplifier s subwoofer LFE output has an adjustable crossover frequency make sure that the subwoofer s own crossover point is set higher or part o...

Page 18: ...that they are disconnected where they first enter the room so they are making no connection to your preampli fier TV or any other component If the hum is caused by the cable TV line then you will need a ground loop isolator This is an inexpensive device fitted in line with the coaxial cable feed If the hum persists disconnect all the source components one at a time from the back of the preamplifie...

Page 19: ...y defective product and shall not in any event include property or any other incidental or consequential damages which may result from the failure of this product Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts and or do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you This Warranty g...

Page 20: ...Manual part number 913 017 00 Rev B ...

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