PHONOBLOCKS -a phono preamplification instrument by Sutherland Engineering OWNER’S MANUAL
A note from designer RON SUTHERLAND: The PhonoBlock story INTRODUCTION: The PhonoBlock is the phono preamp I designed for my home system. Its design was a self indulgence. I built it to please me. There was no consideration to accommodate any market influences. That mind-set gave me the absolute freedom to build an uncompromised and, in my opinion, the best phono preamp.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY Another path to the same destination. Almost always, upscale designs are laden with features. More features are touted to represent advancement, product differentiation AND a rational for the upscale price. The PhonoBlocks don’t play that game. Their elevated performance is achieved by NOT cluttering the signal path with deleterious features. Complexity is not the path to purity. Elegant refinement is. PHONOBLOCKS SEPARATION...
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY POWER SUPPLIES POWER SUPPLY: Much of the PhonoBlock’s effortless musicality can be attributed to power supply capability. The power supply is not ‘sized’ for the gain stage’s load. On the contrary, gain stage power requirements place an insignificant load on the power supply’s capacity. The power available to the amplifier section is a bedrock solid foundation.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY • Third RC pi filter • Forth RC pi filter • Fifth RC pi filter • Constant voltage shunt regulator • Electrolytic and film capacitor bypass at the active devices You can clearly see that each element adds ‘distance’ from the incoming AC power source. This is also apparent when you look at the physical layout of components. Each element adds a physical distance from the AC power connector. All listed items before the ribbon cable are in the right shielded enclosure.
Some are small. For instance, if the front panel logo were simply silk-screened ink, sitting on the surface of the panel it would, over the years, rub off. It is actually a black dye anodized INTO the aluminum. You can see and even feel the difference. Some are big. The base of the PhonoBlock is laser machined 12 gage cold rolled steel. That’s about 1/8” thick. That substantial platform is protected with baked on epoxy power coat. Feet are custom machined from Delrin with rubberized cork inserts.
WHITE NOISE GENERATOR: It can take quite a long listening time before a high resolution component reaches its performance potential. The PhonoBlocks are no exception. However, the PhonoBlocks distinguish themselves by including white noise generators --- one for each channel. White noise becomes the input signal and passes thru all stages of the PhonoBlock. You can even use the output of the PhonoBlock as a burn-in signal source for interconnect cables and the rest of your system.
layout is compromised with the clutter of fitting in all option components. Signal path must wander thru the selector switch and the pile of unused option components. Sometimes the selector switch is of high quality. More often it is a cheap DIP rocker switch – the sort for setting digital signals. Not at all appropriate for passing the minute analog voltages from a phono cartridge. To keep the signal path tight and uncluttered, the PhonoBlock uses plug in configuration boards.
PHONOBLOCK specifications Cartridge Loading 50 Ohms 100 Ohms 200 Ohms 475 Ohms 1k Ohms 10k Ohms 47k Ohms blank card, can be configured for 1 to 47k Ohms plus capacitance Gain settings 45 dB 50 dB 55 dB 60 dB blank card, can be configured for 40 to 70 dB SIZE: 17” wide 17” deep 3.25” high SHIPPING BOX: 24” wide 24” deep 11” high WEIGHT: Net Shipping 21 lbs each 26 lbs each POWER REQUIREMENTS: 110 – 120 VAC, 10 watts, each or 220 – 240 VAC, 10 watts, each PHONOBLOCKS www.sutherlandengineering.
