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| Sunfire’s HRSIW8 High-Resolution Series In-Wall Subwoofer |
I have to admit to feeling a tinge of guilt when agreeing to review Sunfire’s
latest sub-sonic effort, the HRSIW8 high-resolution series in-wall subwoofer.
We’ve been giving a lot of review love to Sunfire’s subs lately, and not a lot
to its competition, which does sort of cast a shadow of partiality. The thing
is, though, when Sunfire stops making innovating, unusual, wonderfully
performing subwoofers, I’ll stop reviewing them. Promise.
As its name implies, the HRSIW8
is designed for mounting much like a
standard in-wall loudspeaker, which is
the first of many things that sets it apart
from the in-wall version of the SubRosa
flat-panel subwoofer I reviewed a yearand-
a-half ago.
Like the SubRosa, though, the
HRSIW8 comes with its own rackmountable
amp–in this case a 520-
watt (into 4 ohms) Class D model
positively packed with DSPs and
filters, as well as support for balance
or unbalance inputs. It doesn’t, on the
other hand, feature the advanced auto
room calibration functionality of the
SubRosa, but given that whatever preamp
or receiver you’re using almost
certainly has room correction these
days, that’s hardly a knock–especially
given that the HRSIW8 sells for significantly less,
at $1,700 for the amp and subwoofer.
The sub itself boasts dual 8-inch fiberglass
drivers, Sunfire’s StillBass anti-shake technology
(doubly important when you’re attaching the
subwoofer directly to sheetrock), and a handy rear
channel for tucking away speaker wire.
As a matter of full disclosure, I should admit
that I didn’t actually mount the HRSIW8 in my
wall because Sunfire included a handy stand for
the review. Given that the cabinet is completely
sealed, that shouldn’t have any significant impact
on audio performance, although it did allow me to
play around with the subwoofer in several positions
against the wall.
But before that, I connected the amp to the LFE
output of the Anthem MRX 700 receiver in my
secondary theater, ran Anthem Room Correction,
and gave the HRSIW8 a good listen a few feet from
the side wall.
Immediately, the sound reminded me of
Sunfire’s own ATMOS mini-subwoofer, which
is a compliment of the highest order. There was
the same effortless, undistorted bass and the same
beautiful integration with the rest of my speakers.
The biggest difference between the sound of the
two is that although the ATMOS, with its 1400-
watt beast of an amp, felt pushed right to its limits
in my bedroom system, the HRSIW8 still had
plenty of headroom left in its 520-watt amp when
cranked to positively pajama-flapping levels.
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| Sunfire’s HRSIW8 high-resolution series in-wall subwoofer comes with its own rack-mountable amp–a 520-watt (into 4Ω) Class D model that is packed with DSPs and filters, as well as support for balance or unbalance inputs |
Despite having an incredibly uncluttered front
panel, the HRSIW8’s amp gives you access to
oodles of settings via its clicky knob. Give it a simple
twist and you can easily adjust the output, but poke
it before pressing, and you can adjust things like
EQ presets, from which you can select flat, music,
movie, impact, or dynamic. Each has its own sonic
signature, and I can confirm that music mode does
add some welcome warmth to bottom-heavy tracks
like Beastie Boys’ “Hey Ladies,” without robbing
cuts like “Hotel California” of their musicality;
and movie mode does add a little oomph to the
stomping footfalls of the Mûmakil in the climactic
battle sequences of
Return of the King, but after a
few days of fiddling, I put the EQ back on flat and
left it there. It’s really the best of all worlds, with
wonderful performance no matter what’s thrown
at it. Granted, with bass extension down to just
33Hz, my go-to scene for ultra-deep bass–the final
showdown in
The Incredible Hulk–didn’t extend
down to the deepest depths to which it’s capable of
digging, but everything else I threw at it positively
rocked.
Also accessible via the menus are easy settings
for auto-off; external triggering via the 12v input on
the back panel; phase settings of 0, 45, 90, 135, 180,
225, 270, and 315 degrees; crossover frequency and
slope settings (which are bypassed if you select
“LFE” mode); and a handy night mode.
I also played around with placement quite a bit,
moving the cabinet closer to the corner for more
impact from movies–it sounded fantastic, especially
with action flicks–and back toward the middle of
the room for more musical tightness–also simply
sumptuous, although I did have to drive the sub a lot
harder to get the same satisfying bottom end. Once
again, however, I moved it right back to where it
started: about two feet from the front corner of
the room, just to the right of and below my front
main satellites speaker. In that spot, it integrated so
gorgeously with the rest of my system that it nearly
sonically disappeared as a source. I tend to find
that this room really wants two subwoofers for even
coverage, but one HRSIW8 in the right position
just beautifully pulled the room together in a way
that few subs ever have.
If you find that you do need two HRSIW8s in a
room, keep in mind that you’ll also need two amps,
since each amp only has one set of binding post
outputs and is only designed for one cabinet.
Speaking of the cabinet: even though I didn’t
actually carve up my sheetrock, I did play around
with the HRSIW8’s securing clamps, which are
opened up and tightened via screws on the front
of the cabinet. They feel wonderfully solid and
smooth, although I can see how easy it would be
to over-tighten the clamps and wreck your clients’
walls, so be careful with that.
The most astounding thing about the HRSIW8
is that–issues of sheetrock clamping aside–the fact
that it’s an in-wall subwoofer is almost a nonissue.
It positively smokes most in-room subs I’ve
auditioned in this room, with tons of presence,
oodles of features, and most importantly, positively
seamless integration with the rest of the sound
system. If you think in-wall subs are a compromise,
I encourage you to give this one a serious listen.
760.710.0993
sunfire.com
Kudos
The HRSIW8 high-resolution
series in-wall subwoofer is
another winner from Sunfire:
a beautifully performing,
fully featured sub that just
so happens to blend invisibly
into the wall with a
paintable grille.
Concerns
If you’re expecting this one
to belt out the ultra-lowest
bass frequencies, you might
be a tad disappointed in the
HRSIW8’s 33Hz bass extension.
Other than that, there’s
nothing to complain about.
Product Specs
Cabinet:
• Height: 24 5/8 inches (H)
x 12 1/16 inches (W), 3
3/4 inches (D)
• Cutout: 23 5/16 inches x
10 13/16 inches
• Frequency Response: 33
Hz - 150 Hz (-3 dB)
Amplifier:
• Max Power: 520 watts rms
• High cut filter: adjusted
from 40 Hz - 160 Hz, with
an LFE bypass position,
and 12 - 36 dB/octave
adjustable slope
• Max Output: >106 dB peak
SPL (includes room gain)
at 1 meter, anechoic
• Total Harmonic Distortion:
<0.5 percent at 500W into
4 ohms