Sutherland SUTZ Transimpedance Gain Stage Use a low-output, low-impedance MC cartridge with an MM phonostage The Sutherland SUTZ is a very special analog product that uses transimpedance to raise the output of your low-output, low-impedance moving coil cartridge to the level of a moving magnet cartridge. It does not perform any RIAA functions, it’s a straight gain only. SUTZ stands for Step-Up Trans Impedance (Z being the symbol of impedance), and is based on the first gain stage of the flagship Sutherland Dos Locos transimpedance phonostage and shares the same chassis as the Little Loco Mk2. Who Should Use a SUTZ? You have an MM phonostage that you know and love, but want to move up to an MC cartridge. Put the SUTZ in between your table and phonostage, and you can get all the benefits of a low-output MC cartridge (making sure it's also low-Z), but keep your MM phonostage. You have a low-output MC cartridge that you know and love, a vacuum tube MM/MC phonostage, and want to reduce tube noise. By putting a SUTZ between your table and the phonostage, you can now switch from the phonostage’s MC input to the MM input, taking advantage of the vastly lower gain that’s needed for moving magnets. This reduces tube noise and lets you use circuits that offer greater tube life. Why Not Use a Step-Up Transformer? The SUTZ offers step-up transformer (SUT) functionality but with the benefits of an active transimpedance gain stage. Ron Sutherland has great respect for people who use SUTs, but recognizes that it’s extremely expensive and time-consuming to find the perfect match that's needed between cartridge and SUT. Once you find that perfect combo, there’s more experimentation with load settings and step-up ratios. Add to this the fact that SUTs have a long break-in period during which their characteristics can change. The transimpedance nature of the Sutherland SUTZ means you don’t have to worry about cartridge matching. You just need to have a low-output moving coil cartridge with a low (
