Bob Carver is a legend in the audio industry and for good reason. A physicist by training and a gadget head by nature, Bob has been building amplifiers almost all his life, and during that time he has made many ground breaking improvements on old themes. Starting with his early cube amplifiers and mighty yet tiny "True" subwoofers, Mr. Carver has never been one to sit on his laurels, and the new TGA 7401 continues in this tradition. Packing seven channels of amplification capable of producing 400 Watts per channel into all seven channels at eight Ohms, 800 Watts per channel into four Ohms and 1,600 Watts into two Ohms and stable into a one Ohm load. All this power comes to you for $4,450.

The specs only tell part of the story with this amplifier, Bob Carver's Tracking Downconverter makes this ultra-high power amplifier lightweight and run cool so it can be mounted almost anywhere. The new fascia design mates perfectly with the new look of Sunfire components. The TGA 7401 offers both balanced and single ended inputs for all seven channels, and actually has two single ended connectors that allow for daisy chaining channels together allowing easy biamping or triamping of your speakers in case 400 Watts isn't enough for them.

A fascinating option, the TGA 7401 has two 'types' of powered outputs for the front speakers, one works as most solid state amps, while the current source is designed more like a tube amp output, combining this with bi-amping can give you the soundstage and sonics of tubes for the top end and massive bass control of the bottom end with one amplifier, though it will consume four of your amp channels, it does make for a nice sound. The Sunfire TGA 7401 is clear and detailed with an open soundstage and thanks to the Tracking Downconverter, it produces more power than you'll likely ever need even for relatively inefficient speakers.

High Points
• The Sunfire TGA 7400 puts out more rated power than any seven channel amp I know of, so it can easily handle wide swings in dynamics and even difficult speakers to drive thanks to it's stability into a one Ohm load.
• The new more modern look of Sunfire gear is sure to appeal to a broader audience than the previous simple black box.
• The multitude of connection options and the two different sounding taps for the fronts allow you to customize the sound of this amp to suit your system and tastes.
• The amp runs cool, even under heavy use so it can be easily rack mounted without much concern for heat.

Low Points
• The Sunfire TGA 7400 lacks some of the weight and depth of more expensive amplifiers, but it certainly holds it's own against them and at less than half their price.
• Like almost any seven channel amplifier, connectors can get close, and this can limit or make it difficult to use certain wires.

Conclusion
The new Sunfire TGA 7401 offers improved new looks and plenty of power to spare for home theater or audio reproduction. Thanks to the Tracking Downconverter power supply, it manages to do this with little to almost no heat production making placement of the amplifier a breeze, and not require any breezes. The small size and light weight will certainly save your back while it's clear and open sound will keep your ears happy as well. This is a great amplifier and a bargain at it's price and one you should listen to if you need a new amp to cover a large home theater.