Sutherland Director Line Preamp Owner's Manual - page 4
1500 S. Ninth, P.O. Box 1905, Salina, Kansas 67402
785.825.8609 • Fax 785.825.0156 • www.acousticsounds.com
Sutherland Engineering products, like those of AcousTech Electronics,
are designed by Ron Sutherland for exclusive distribution through Acoustic Sounds, Inc.
SPECIFICATIONS and OPTIONS
INPUTS
4 high level inputs
VOLUME STEPS
31 steps of 1 dB in the range of –27.3 dB to –57.3 dB
96 steps of 0.5 dB in the range of +20.7 dB to –27.3
dB
UNITY GAIN OPTION
Any one or more of the inputs can be assigned unity gain
pass thru for home theater use.
MAXIMUM INPUT VOLTAGE
Each input of the Director can be configured as DIRECT
or ATTENUATED.
When configured DIRECT, the maximum input voltage
is 3 V rms.
When configured ATTN, the maximum input voltage
is 18 V rms.
MAXIMUM DISTORTION
Less than 0.01% total harmonic distor tion plus noise
‘A’ weighted, output level 2.5 volts rms, 1 kHz
MAXIMUM GAIN
DIRECT
+20.7 dB
ATTN
+3.8 dB
INPUT IMPEDANCE
When configured DIRECT
42,000 ohms
When configured ATTN
29,000 ohms
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE
270 ohms
MAXIMUM OUTPUT VOLTAGE
8 Volts rms
POWER CONSUMPTION
10 Watts
FUSE TYPE
1
⁄
8
amp, slo-blo
DIMENSIONS
17” wide X 4.25” high X
15” deep
NET WEIGHT
24 lbs. (11 kg)
SHIPPING WEIGHT
29 lbs. (14 kg)
The Director is retailing for $3,000. Yet, we know that it com-
petes sonically with cost-no-object designs. So, how is this pos-
sible?
In many of the expensive high-end preamplifiers you will see
extravagantly machined cases that contribute nothing to sound
quality. The Director is encased in a ver y robust, epoxy-powder
coated 12-gauge steel case and a machined aluminum panel.
The machined knob turns in a large steel ball bearing. This is
all first-class material, but with The Director you’re not paying
for extra (and unnecessar y) jewelr y.
Without solid engineering, even the most expensive compo-
nents will not make a great sounding preamplifier. The Director
is based upon a solid technical foundation. It is a no-non-
sense, focused design, and it is not based on tweaking exotic
and problematic components.
The power cord supplied with The Director is a “cheapie.” It is
plenty adequate, but some users may want to upgrade the
power cord. We decided to keep the cost of high-end power
cords out of The Director’s retail price and instead let the cus-
tomer make that decision.
The Director’s remote control is not the kind of machined case
remote control you would find with much more expensive pre-
amplifiers. On the other hand, it is compact, attractive, light-
weight and simple to use.
Construction has been simplified. It was decided to make an
extra investment in the up-front engineering expenses to simpli-
fy the construction of each production unit. This investment
helps keep the cost to assemble each unit reasonable. When
you look inside the case of The Director you will immediately
see the neat, tidy layout. There is an elegant functionality to
each design decision.
The Director is a streamlined design. It is not laden with extra
features. Ever ything about it is focused on sound quality. And
now it’s yours to enjoy.
A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR DIRECTOR