Sutherland Engineering Releases TZ Vibe Phono Stage: Only $1400 for the Transimpedance Circuit!

For the last couple of years one of our "go to" phono stages for almost anyone with a moving coil cartridge has been the truly outstanding Little Loco from Sutherland Engineering. We consider this one of the best phono stages available, regardless of price. At $3800 it is a stone-bargain.

The secret to the sauce is Ron Sutherland's "transimpedance" circuit.  Now Sutherland has succeeding in implementing this novel circuit into the new TZ Vibe phono stage at a cost of only $1400.

In the transimpedance design, instead of the usual stepping up of the voltages being generated by the phono cartridge, this amplification circuit deals with current. This has some serious advantages, amongst which is the elimination of the need to consider cartridge loading at all for optimal performance. The main disadvantages have been the cost of entry, and the inability of this design approach to accommodate cartridge types other than moving coils, such as moving magnet or moving iron. The TZ Vibe is still only for MC cartridges, but the cost of entry is dramatically reduced!

By using the front end of the Little Loco, combined with the second gain stage of his affordable, conventional KC Vibe phono stage ($895), Ron Sutherland is able to offer the transimpedance circuit to a whole new audience.

Use the links above to learn more about these Sutherland designs. Also worth taking a look at our original report on the Little Loco.

And you can bet we have this one on the way for in-home audition through The Cable Company Library. Let us know if this is something you would like to try in your system.