The Sumo Electra Plus preamp review

[stuwee]

Hmmm, where to start? It's much clearer and cleaner sounding than the Yamaha, the wonderful soundstage is about the same which is great!! Maybe a tad deeper. John actually said it sounds better, and that's alot coming from his non audiophile ass .

It's very butch looking, nice tactile feel from the controls, it's pretty minimal with inputs though, 1 tape, 1 tuner, 2 phono. No headphone output/jack (this almost made me not get, I need 'phones since I work late nights and my 'daytime' is others night). I'll start a thread about headphone amps soon.

The phono section is just what I like, smooth, articulate, just the right sizzle, sweet midrange, and OMG the Bass is soooo much better with the Sumo!!!

Seriously, the bass is two steps up from the Yammie.

I also had to reconfigure the system because of where the jacks are, not happy about that but, no pain, no gain

All in all, not bad for a purchase that had very, very few reviews online...

 

[Northwinds]

Glad you found a good one Craig!!!

 

[laatsch55]

What'd a guy guy know about "butch lookin"???????


Glad you found something you can live with bud!#!#

 

[stuwee]

What'd a gay guy know about "butch lookin"????

Everything bud! it is a serious lookin' rig, thick faceplate, big rack handles, balls to the walls!!!

I LOVE the sound as it warms up, just gets better and better! Talk Talk on board now, nuances that make your hair stand on end! Can't wait for you and Jani to hear it next January

 

[laatsch55]

Amen bud....

 

[stuwee]

Amen bud....

Dude, you're gonna be sooo impressed it has a tone that is unreal, vocals hit you in the middle of your head...BAM!!

Subtle, then when it calls your name...Uh Huh!

 

[laatsch55]

I wanna hear Patricia swallow her mic....

 

[stuwee]

I wanna hear Patricia swallow her mic....

We can make that happen!

 

[laatsch55]

And that I do not doubt. Stephen says the CLS's are GOOD speakers, circa 1992, power hungry...

 

[stuwee]

And that I do not doubt. Stephen says the CLS's are GOOD speakers, circa 1992, power hungry...

Alas, someone smarter than us snapped them up, they would make a much better project for your K-horn bass conversion, crossovers minimal, no powered amps in the way, huge panels!!

Very power hungry, check out Sanders white paper on speaker cables and amps to drive the beasts!!

We just might be on to something here buddy!

 

[laatsch55]

Link the white paper would ya??

 

[stuwee]

Here, http://www.dagogo.com/an-interview-with-roger-sanders-of-sanders-sound-systems

I'm not sure if the cable white paper is there, I'll link it in a bit.

 

[stuwee]

About his cables, https://www.audiogon.com/listings/s...s-2015-03-27-cables-33701-saint-petersburg-fl

 

[R1200S]

Here, http://www.dagogo.com/an-interview-with-roger-sanders-of-sanders-sound-systems

I'm not sure if the cable white paper is there, I'll link it in a bit.

This is a VERY good read. He's not pumping his own product as much as giving a great overview of electronics and physics involved.

On to his white papers!!

 

[stuwee]

I think everyone knows how much I love James B. He is beyond reproach and a master of all he put his hands on, however, Roger Sanders is a God with anything having to do with electronics and sound. I do not agree with his thoughts on speakers, I think ML got the issue of the magnificent soundstage with the 'curvelinear' panel, where Roger thinks the flat panel holds the key, different strokes for different folks?

I've never heard a speaker that makes me feel 'you are there' like I have with the Summits with major power fed to them, the Sumo just makes it sweeter! I shudder to think what proper cables will add to the mix, let alone a WOPL!!

I need to know more about cooling issues, Derek, your fans are the Bomb! I need that set up! The SAE bad boy gets hot! The summits ain't nothing nice on an amp, the fan I have on it does ok. When I switch it off, it pops the speaker plugged into the power bar! No damage, just makes a popping sound.

BooHoo, I love vintage and hate it at the same time!

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

I think everyone knows how much I love James B. He is beyond reproach and a master of all he put his hands on, however, Roger Sanders is a God with anything having to do with electronics and sound. I do not agree with his thoughts on speakers, I think ML got the issue of the magnificent soundstage with the 'curvelinear' panel, where Roger thinks the flat panel holds the key, different strokes for different folks?

I've never heard a speaker that makes me feel 'you are there' like I have with the Summits with major power fed to them, the Sumo just makes it sweeter! I shudder to think what proper cables will add to the mix, let alone a WOPL!!

I need to know more about cooling issues, Derek, your fans are the Bomb! I need that set up! The SAE bad boy gets hot! The summits ain't nothing nice on an amp, the fan I have on it does ok. When I switch it off, it pops the speaker plugged into the power bar! No damage, just makes a popping sound.

BooHoo, I love vintage and hate it at the same time!

Craig, do you switch off the amp first before the pre? I always go pre on first, amp second and when turning off, go amp first off, then pre off. Of course, that's with the WOPL but no noises when switching.

 

[laatsch55]

Perry, he was referring to the pop when switching off the fan.....I think....

 

[stuwee]

Yes guys, I was referring to the fan, John has a habit of switching off things that he feels are not needed. I always leave the amp and the pre amp on. I don't care what it costs on the electric bill, I want them warm and ready to go.

Besides Stephan told me the SAE pulls a ton of juice switching it on from standby, he warned me that unless I had a proper 30amp (or was it 15amp?) electrical with the proper breakers on the panel it would blow fuses in the box on turn on. I haven't had a issue yet but, like it on regardless...

I have to have the speaker plugged into the power bar thing and the fan as well, only one outlet on that side of the room! I guess I could try plugging the fan into the back of the pre amp and see how that works. It's just a small pop and the techs at ML said nothing can really harm them. Stephan also said do not plug the amp into a power bar, it needs a proper grounded outlet for it's massive plug, I trust whatever he says.

Like Perry says with separates, turn on the pre 1st, amp last, to turn off, amp 1st, pre last...

 

[roccus]

" I always leave the amp and the pre amp on. I don't care what it costs on the electric bill"

I do to. A friend of mine and I had an argument is it better to leave on or turn off when not in use... well I see it as way better to leave on power surge after power surge over years of use turning on/off of anything electronics does more harm to components then just leaving the power to them the only thing that suffers are the lamps that usually have a life expectancy rated by hours.

He claims leaving power on all the time actually burns components out sooner and also risks the chance if power goes out the surge when power comes back on could destroy the everything. I use a surge protecting power strip for this reason.

 

[laatsch55]

Capacitor life is rated in hours..