Sutherland Phono Loco Phonostage

This is the flagship realization of a “current input” phonostage that offers stunning musicality from the get-go: spacious, effortless, and full

The first transimpedance phono pre from Sutherland was the Phono Loco, with every design element chosen for performance. Ron Sutherland himself says he focused on performance possibilities above all else, and “marketing was thrown under the bus”. What this means for you, the vinyl-head chasing the very best performance, is that you are getting an extremely high return on investment. 

The Phono Loco must have a balanced input signal because both connections from the cartridge coil must float with respect to ground. There is no single-ended option, and a good XLR balanced cable is essential. 

A current input phonostage uses the current rather than the voltage generated by the phono cartridge. With a transimpedance gain stage, the input signal is read off the current, and the output signal is transmitted by the voltage. A result of this approach is that loading settings are not needed–your cartridge will see a load of 0 ohm, and the input signal is the current that the cartridge produces into that virtual short.

What this means, of course, is that every detail of the music is preserved.

Similarly, gain settings usually do not have to be changed–the Phono Loco comes set to medium gain, but removable resistor boards allow the gain to be set to high or low. 

Comes with a 5-year transferable warranty on parts and labor.

Specifications

Dimensions (WHD): 17″ x 3.25″ x 17″ 

Weight: 21 lb