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Sutherland Engineering N1 Preamplifier

Sutherland Engineering N1 Preamplifier

It’s possible, just possible, that the fertile mind of Ron Sutherland has created one of the great preamps of our day. Okay, being a less frequent contributor to these pages than I once was—and hence my exposure to other designs is simply not as deep as it used to be—please allow me to phrase that another way: At the very least, the Sutherland N1 is one of the great preamps of my experience.

That said, I’ve been around the block once or twice and have had another very fine preamp sharing duties in my system for more than the past year—namely the VTL TL-5.5 Series II Signature I waxed enthusiastic over in Issue 251.

This isn’t exactly the first time that Ron Sutherland’s talents have impressed me. Beginning with his days as a founding partner of MartinLogan, Sutherland has produced many innovative audio designs, showing an especially keen flair for phono preamps, from the AcousTech PH-1 that Ron designed for Chad Kassem’s Acoustic Sounds to several subsequent creations—both battery- and AC-powered—such as the PH3D, the 20/20, and the dual-mono PhonoBlock.

I’ll admit that in addition to its outstanding sonic performance, which I’ll address shortly, I’m fiercely drawn to the brilliant simplicity of the N1’s design and functionality, which perhaps qualify it as the coolest preamp I have ever used. Inspired by classic models of yesteryear, the $8000 N1 is an all-in-one preamp (hence the name, N1—get it? All N1). As it was with preamplifiers of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s—i.e., before the CD era—the N1’s phonostage, linestage, and power supply are all housed in the same chassis. Furthermore, like those old-school models, Sutherland conceived the N1 for the listener whose main passion is for spinning vinyl records.

The stacked, dual-mono phono boards—the same circuitry as found in the afore- mentioned PhonoBlock—occupy fully half of the unit’s interior space, which is substantially more serious than the plug-in phono cards so often found in the majority of today’s linestage-centric designs. Indeed, each section of the N1 comprises identical stacked mono circuitry, including that for volume control, input selection, and power-supply filtering and regulation. Additionally, and despite much of the industry’s preference for balanced designs, the N1’s circuitry is single-ended, as Sutherland prefers the simplicity and shorter signal paths that those classic circuits provide. “Abandoning single-ended is not an advancement,” he states.

Sutherland Engineering N1 Preamplifier

The phono boards are shipped set to 200 ohms loading and 60dB gain. But additional gain options (45, 50, and 55dB) and loading cards (100, 475, 1k, and 10k—47k is no card) are supplied, and removing the top cover to swap them out is as simple as can be.

Now, trust me when I report that I rarely geek out over circuit boards. I just don’t find them that sexy. But I have to admit that examining the N1’s interior layout warmed this Virgo’s heart. It speaks to the way Sutherland thinks—clean, orderly, refined—as well as to a clear pride of craftsmanship that extends to the machined aluminum faceplate, tempered glass display window, and simple genius behind the N1’s operation.

You see, a single knob controls all of the N1’s functions. That’s it—the one and only thing on the front panel besides the super-cool-looking, amber-orange, Nixie-tube numeric display. Again inspired by the past, Sutherland has incorporated this retro-timeless technology—said to be the first type of numeric display developed in the mid-Fifties—into his modern design. It adds a nice Mad Men-era vibe to the pure, if otherwise rather nondescript-looking front plate. Because the N1 is designed to be left on at all times there is no power switch, not even on the rear panel. In addition to the phono input there are four linestage inputs—one being a unity gain pass-through for home-theater—that use the same circuitry found in Sutherland’s LineBlocks. A few paragraphs back I wrote that this might very well be the coolest preamp I’ve ever used. To explain why, and because I can’t improve on Sutherland’s own description of the N1’s operation, I’ll quote from the owner’s manual:

“When AC power is first applied to the N1, software begins a power-up sequence.

“The digital display will count down from 60 seconds. When 00 is reached, the initial selected input will be 1 and the initial selected volume will be 00.

 

“To select a different input, press the control knob. The two digits of volume indication will go off. That leaves only the input display illuminated. The outputs are now muted and the knob is used for selecting an input. The N1 is unmuted by pressing the front panel knob again. The volume numeric indication comes back on and the volume level will then ramp up to the value last used with that particular input.

“The N1 has a timer feature that will automatically turn off the Nixie displays. If the N1 controls (knob or remote) are not used for a certain time period, the Nixie displays will go off and a yellow LED will go on. There is no change in audio settings. The Nixie display simply turns off. You can select the time period (in hours). To do so, press and hold the control knob in for five seconds. When it is released, the yellow LED will blink and you can select the time period with the control knob. When set to 0, the timer is disabled and the Nixie display will stay on continuously. After selecting the time period, press the knob again to return to normal preamp operation.”

But what I suspect you can’t imagine from reading this is how wonderfully intuitive the N1 is to operate. Being one of those guys who might get around to picking up the owner’s manual one day (perhaps like you?), I didn’t bother to actually read any of those words until a few days after first installing the N1. It just seemed obvious how the thing functions. That’s how intuitive it is. Now that’s my idea of cool!

And the N1’s three-button remote control—ah, so Zen-like compared to those hideously button-encrusted monsters we’re otherwise confronted by—is equally intuitive.

Oh, one other thoughtful feature. The N1 has something labeled Input 6, but in fact this triggers a built-in white-noise generator designed to hasten the preamp’s break-in period; or, if selected with your power amp on, to assist with the break-in time of your entire system.


Sutherland Engineering N1 Preamplifier

As to the N1’s performance, well, it’s lovely in the best sense of that word. In a way, the sound perfectly reflects the conception and execution I’ve tried to describe above: clean, pure, uncluttered, open, neutral, balanced, at the service of the music.

Starting with an old favorite, the Juilliard Quartet’s reading of the six Bartók string quartets from 1966 [Columbia], I was taken by how harmonious the N1’s overall presentation is. I probably overuse the word “transparent,” as in sensing that a component is shedding layers of the electronic stardust that can cloud or create a sonic distance between a recorded performance and us, but that’s the first thing I wrote down about the N1. During the first movement of the Quartet No. 1, not only was each instrument’s tonal and textural makeup convincingly natural, but each was absolutely and distinctly its own voice. Moreover, there was a nearly visual sensation of the great Juilliard players physically creating this music in union. Dynamics were likewise impressive, swelling in volume both sonic and spatial, that “bloom” thing, as Jonathan Valin would say, as the music emerges from its quiet state through to the most intensely—almost violently—scored passages. Add a charged feeling of the recording space’s ambience and the result was thrilling to experience.

Since David Bowie’s death I can’t stop spinning Blackstar [Columbia], his final, glorious offering to the world. On one hand it’s depressing as hell; on the other, simply beautiful. Playing the title track, the Sutherland presented a huge, almost church-like sense of space in my room. Bowie’s vocal here, so haunting, floats above the well-textured stutter-step drums, shimmering synths, and throaty sax. When presented with this kind of detail, clarity, and wholeness the Sutherland delivers a heartbreaking emotional wallop.

I’ve also been enjoying guitarist/composer Anthony Wilson’s latest LP (which I’ll be reviewing next issue), Frogtown [Goat Hill Records]. On this quite well-recorded release, the Sutherland again showed its stuff. The opening track, a swaying stroll called “She Won’t Look Back,” showcases Wilson’s guitar sound—with its reverberant twang and sandy texture—alongside organ and piano. In addition, Jim Keltner’s loping drumming is presented with fine clarity and detail, while the stage feels large and wonderfully open to the musicians, and Wilson’s singing voice (vocals are somewhat of a new thing for him) came across as friendly and warm with a slight bluesy rasp.

Returning to the San Francisco Symphony’s Mahler Project, which I covered some years ago in these pages, one of the gems in that limited-edition 180-gram box set is a “bonus” 45rpm pressing of the piano score of Rückert-Lieder. Featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Michael Tilson Thomas, the LP is an uncommonly natural-sounding recording of voice and piano. There’s a great sense of ease and purity (there’s that word again) here, with convincing presentation both of the musicians’ positions relative to one another and their proper scale within the acoustic space. Graham’s vocal and the piano’s upper register are detailed, airy, and extended, while MTT’s instrument conveys a wonderful feeling of percussive weight without heaviness. There’s also a realistic feeling of the house’s charged air “breathing,” that is, swelling and fading with the pulse of the music.

 

Listening to the same set’s Symphony No. 1, I noted that the Sutherland’s outstanding recreation of dynamic nuance combined with explosively wide dynamic range brings one of Tilson Thomas’ finest readings to glorious life. From the opening movement’s slowly awakening nature theme right through to the rollicking drama of the symphony’s conclusion, the N1’s ease at resolving the smallest details of, say, a brief cello passage, a hushed English horn, a gently tapped drum, while keeping it all together during the passages where Mahler pulls out all stops, creates a very immersive experience.

The N1 is brilliant in so many ways—its air, resolution, tonal naturalness, and way with instrumental textures are especially fetching to me, yet for those looking for the warmth of a classic vacuum tube model, well, it’s best to look elsewhere. Not that the N1 is cold—not in my book—but it doesn’t add any kind of golden halo to recordings that might be on the cool or lean side.

One day I was discussing the merits of various Burgundy producers with a fellow obsessive. We concluded that while all vignerons have a style—lighter, richer, more extracted, or less, and so on—it’s also possible for that same producer’s wines to translate, or be transparent to, the specific terroir of a vineyard, showing, say, its more fruit- or mineral-driven nature.

And that’s analogous to what I’m trying to convey here. Because just as all the finest gear should, the Sutherland N1, while still having its own attributes, ultimately steps aside and lets each recording’s personality shine through. Be they the tracks described above, or the slightly lean, yet bursting with energy Rudy Van Gelder recording of Booker Ervin’s Freedom Book that Analogue Productions recently reissued, or that same label’s lushly immersive, warm as cashmere 45rpm edition of Nat King Cole’s The Very Thought of You, or the wonderfully raw, ragged glory of the Stones’ Exile on Main Street [Rolling Stone Records], Sutherland’s N1 delivers them whole while drawing us deeply into each performance.

Every now and again a component comes along that makes us realize afresh the talent and hard work that goes into making anything truly special at the artisan level, which of course is what high-end audio is all about. The pleasure of using Sutherland’s N1—in both the operational as well as musical realms—on an ongoing basis makes it, for me, one of those components. And because the N1 was inspired by designs from audio’s Golden Era, I will reach back as well and say that what Sutherland has created with N1 is high fidelity in the finest sense of that term. Kudos, Mr. Sutherland.

Specs & Pricing

Inputs: One phono, three line level, one unity gain for home-theater use
Outputs: Two paralleled per channel
Gain phonostage: 45, 50, 55, 60dB
Loading phonostage: 100, 200, 475, 1k, 10k, 47k
Dimensions: 17″ x 3.5″ x 18″
Weight: 22 lbs.
Price: $8000

Sutherland Engineering
455 East 79th Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64131
(816) 718-7898
sutherlandengineering.com

Associated Equipment
Rega RP10 and AMG Giro turntables; Rega Apheta and AMG Teatro moving-coil cartridges; VTL TL5.5II preamp and ST-150 power amplifier; Magnepan MG 1.7 loudspeakers; Tara Labs Zero interconnects, Omega speaker cables, The One power cords, and BP-10 Power Screen; Finite Elemente Spider equipment racks

Wayne Garcia

By Wayne Garcia

Although I’ve been a wine merchant for the past decade, my career in audio was triggered at age 12 when I heard the Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! blasting from my future brother-in-law’s giant home-built horn speakers. The sound certainly wasn’t sophisticated, but, man, it sure was exciting.

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