Sutherland Engineering

PH3D

The PH3D is a high-value example of high-end performance. There are no frills – nothing fancy. The parts budget all goes towards putting really good parts into the signal path. Those quality parts, combined with  refined circuitry have given much listening pleasure to its happy owners.

PRICING

Retail Price: $1,000

SUPPORT

Sutherland PH3D Owner’s Manual

Testimonials

You gotta love it!!!!

Hi Ron,

I have to let you know how much I got a kick out of the Timeline. Not only is it a fun piece of audio jewelry, but works better than advertised. Within three minutes we had the new VPI HRX up to speed, or “correct” speed I should say. No strobe disc, and light, etc, just a few minutes staring at a bright red led light. What could be easier, and I now have a perfect speed locked into my speed controller for our turntable, dynamite.

We are constantly playing with trials to see what we can drag up from the depths of an old piece of vinyl and have just pulled out a Crosby Nash, “Whistling Down the Wire” LP that must be at least 25 years old. Two minutes on the VPI 16.5 cleaning machine and on the table. This was a seriously warped disc, but the platter rim weight and center weight put the LP into a seemingly flat position. Dropped the needle and nothing in our digital front end can give so much satisfaction. You don’t have to be a kid to keep finding new ways to enjoy 25 minutes.

I have rarely been able to achieve the level of quality jump in a new digital front end as we have now with the new VPI running through the Hubble, it is just amazing and very satisfying. Great work all the way around. Well back to work, oh wait, this is work. You gotta love it, thanks again.

Sincerely,
Rick

Definitely, a BETTER PHD!!

Ron,
I have the pleasure of listen through your Hubble for many weeks now, and it has been enjoyable. Definitely, a BETTER PHD!!
Thanks!
— Regards, Mike

Kudos for Ron on a number of things

Yesterday I unpacked my Sutherland Phd after moving from Hawaii to the mainland back in the end of Sept. 2012. This is April 8. When I packed the amp I removed the batteries for fear they would leak and make a mess of things. The unit was packaged in the original shipping box it arrived in. When I unpacked it, it looked pristine. After inserting brand new batteries and anxiously hooking it up to the turntable (it’d been 6 or 7 months since I heard music through my system) it wouldn’t turn on. Disappointment You bet. I sent an email to Ron Sutherland asking for help. To my surprise, an hour or two later, Ron replied to my email with a couple of helpful suggestions. I followed the instructions, but unknowingly to me, I made a mistake in understanding them. In another email I asked Ron if I could call him and included my phone number in the email. Viola! The phone rings and Ron was on the phone! Nice guy. The kind of guy you wish you could sit down at a bar and have a drink with. We discussed the problem, and in a second Ron had the issue isolated and the remedy all in one. There was a faulty battery holder. We jury-rigged it in a way that will last for years to come, and the unit works perfectly and I listened to music the rest of the day.

Kudos for Ron on a number of things. First and foremost, designing the Phd. I spent my whole life waiting for this thing and didn’t know it until I bought one and have been using it ever since. Next kudo is just the kind of man Ron turned out to be – pleasant, helpful, uplifting and smart! Next, I swear he was as happy as I was that his “baby” the Phd was all fixed up and ready to go. As it turns out, this whole experience was a positively memorable in my audiophile life. I had a good time. Way to go Mr. Sutherland!

Ralph

I became another happy PH1P user

Dear Ron,

I became another happy PH1P user 🙂 For me your phono stage is magic…I can not stop re-listening and re-discovering my vinyls…hours and hours…details that the phono amp is finding in the groove, the stage, the stereo image, the punchiness, the smoothness, the good reproduction of bass…everything that I expect from a musical reproduction is there…So the new Clearaudio Performance DC (with Maestro Ebony V2 cartridge) + PH1P is the musical nirvana for me…at least for today… Thank you again for this product and supporting me during the decision phase…

Very best regards from Brussels,
Nuri

Best Sounding Phono Preamp I Have Heard

I love the Sutherland Phono Blocks that I purchased. I am currently using an inexpensive cartridge (Denon 103R) and they put out amazing sound. To fully take of their abilities I have decided to buy a better cartridge, power cables. I will email you a review when I have had a chance to listen to everything after the break ins are all done. Even if nothing changes in it the best sounding phono preamp I have heard.

Joe O.

Thanks from a very happy customer

Good Morning Ron,

The DUOs arrived and were perfect. I changed the gain to 100, I have about 5 hours on them. All I will say right now is detail, detail and smooth without having to use a lot of volume, I will be having quit a few late nights this week, I will get back to you in a couple of weeks.

Thanks from a very happy customer,
Rich

It was Mind-Blowing

Hi Ron,

I have been busier at the office than usual and have had a limited amount of time to listen to records, unfortunately. The amazing thing happened only last friday. Up until that point, every record had had the same two-dimensional brightness to the sound. At some point last friday night, I put on Something Else by The Kinks and it was mind-blowing. Unbelievably holographic-sounding, striking image placement and overall, a rich and dynamic sound with loads of texture. Quite a transformation. Very impressed!

Regards,
Michael

Very Enjoyable Phono Preamplifier

Hello Mr. Sutherland,

I picked up a 20/20 just to audition and fell in love. It’s resolution and clarity are a continuing source of complete musical satisfaction. It showed my xxx Special Edition to be quite inferior.

Thank you for a wonderful, very enjoyable phono preamplifier.

Kind Regards,
Jerry S

Hearing My records in a New Light

Hello, I just purchased your 20/20 phono pre. I’m hearing my records in a new light and I am very happy.

I love my new 20/20

Ron:

Just have to write “wow”. I love my new 20/20. It is married to my VPI classic and Grado statement sonata cartridge and pumped through my AR tube preamp. The sound is bright and crisp without the rough edges. And as stated on the website, “dead quite”. Thanks for such a brilliant design. I am a big fan.

Luis

Preamp was a Stellar Performer Even Without the Footers

Hi Ron – Thought you might like to see the 20/20 with the Mapleshade brass footers, on their maple platform. Sonically, this was a real upgrade. The preamp was a stellar performer even without the footers, but this was quite a significant enhancement. I played a London FFRR recording of Solti and the CSO doing Mahler’s 7th over the weekend, a composition that I never really appreciated. It had me pinned to my seat – audiophile craziness at its best. ;<)

Best, David

You Don’t Know What you Don’t Know

There’s an old saying “you don’t know what you don’t know”.

After auditioning the Sutherland 20/20 with some material that I am very familiar with, what I thought was “normal” is certainty not “normal” anymore when the 20/20 is patched into the signal path.

The robust design, dual mono configuration, and lots of high quality discrete components would translate into the expected sharper focus and detail, with less compression/increased dynamic range. Yes, the 20/20 had all of the above. What surprised me at how differently it conveys complex or dynamic information. Or, more appropriately, how little the content changes in texture and detail when the “rush hour effect” takes place. You know about “rush hour”. It’s when traffic increases and too many things are trying to fit thru the “pipe”. Generally, the most aggressive and obnoxious get thru leaving the articulate and delicate elements stuck in traffic, not to be heard from. Not so with the 20/20. Things remain intact regardless of how much complexity in the content. Those “mangled masses” of sound of the “original” that I heard year after year, in system after system, actually don’t sound that way at all. They are distinct sounds in their own spaces with their own unique chord structure and timbre. Audio 101: don’t always believe what you don’t hear. Or, something like that.

The 20/20 had a lightness about it. Never heavy or bloated. But, it never lacked power and authority when summons to do so. The bass was powerful, deep, and controlled. Once again, what I thought the bass “sounded like” with other phono stages was different with the 20/20. Deeper, tighter, more defined and coherent.

If the goal of the 20/20 is to trigger an emotion response, it certainty got one.

Nice job.
John

All I can say is you have exceeded any expectation I had

Ron,

Wow…what can I say, thank you so very much for upgrading the shipping. Don’t know what to say other than thank you, but that seems a little like I am under-representing our complete email dialogue over the past few weeks. This is what drew me to your products in the first place, and all I can say is you have exceeded any expectation I had.

One day I hope to shake your hand and thank you for developing some of the finest…and affordable audio products in the world…but also for the person that you are.

Take care,
Russ (& Paula) L