I have been a Sunn 2000S owner since about 1974. Prior to owning my 2000S I owned several Fender amps. The first was a Bassman and later a Dual Showman (outfitted with Lansing D140F speakers, the exact speakers in the Sunn 2000S).
The Bassman was under-powered (as was my Sound 202+ and Ampeg B-15 before it), but the Dual Showman had plenty of power. Unfortunately the cabinet started rattling after about a year, so I sold it (as well as the Bassman) and bought a Sunn 2000S for about $700 (a lot of money back in 1974). But I have been married to the Sunn 2000S ever since and I'm still using this magnificent amp in a band to this very day. The 2000S still performs perfectly and does not rattle. Granted, I had to replace the tubes and one D-140F, and I ran some liquid nails around the inside of the cab to reinforce the seal, but that's about it.
Having been through arguably the best amps Fender ever made for bass yet I migrated to Sunn, my conclusion is Sunn built a better product than Fender. And I'm not the only one that felt this way at the time: every member of our band sold their amps and bought Sunns as well. Our lead sold his Fender Showman and bought a Sunn 1200S, the keyboardist sold his Vox and bought a Sunn 1000S and our rhythm guitarist sold his Gibson and bought a Sunn Sceptre.
So here's my question, did Fender buy up Sunn so it could shut them down? What's the story? Anyone know?
James