Sanders ESL Power Amp & Mono blocks

Hi Kiwi

Well I heard both combinations at the dealer's showroom. The Sanders is typical SS sound, very clean and leaning towards the lean/thin side. The ModWright had more body straight off, but does not sound euphonic like older generation tube amps. Perhaps its me, and you might want to get another opinion from Cerrot, who has the complete Sanders system.

You are right about the balanced operation which IS a good thing with the ESL power amp. I did try driving the amp direct via the balanced outputs on my Benchmark DAC, and it was a marked improvement over the SE connection.

The sound from my system isn't lean at all. I do run fully balanced (preamp to amp is Tara Labs RSC Air one balanced and amp/crossover are Tara Labs The One Balanced). I do use Shunyata Python power cables on all components through a Shunyata Hydra and I'm sure it helps. CD player is the Esoteric X03SE (also Tara Labs The One Balanced, Shunyata Python Vx Helix)); tuner is Macintosh MR78 (modded) with Tara Labs RSC Air One single ended (preamp only has one balanced input) and TT is VPI TNT Jr/Benz Micro Glider L2 with Cardas phono cables and phontostage to preamp uses Tara Labs The One single ended. I have Cera pucs under both the ESL amp and crossover/bass amp and Symposium Svelt shelfs under the ESL speakers and fat pads under the preamp. Looking back to the system prior to the power conditioner/power cable upgrade and before putting the speakers on the svelt shelves, and cera pucs under the amps, I could now say that the sound may have been a little lean, compared to the sound I have now. The system now is absolute bliss. SACD is pectacular, as well as very well recorded redbook CD's. It is a very revealing system. Anything other than well recorded CD's don't really want to make me sit there an listen. Vinyl sounds great as well as FM and squeezebox (through Benchmark DAC and CI power supply--also Shunyata Python and Tara Labs RSC Air One). It is a very non-fatiguing, very musical sound. Wide, tall and deep soundstage and it is very easy to hear where each instrument is. You can easilly distinguish steel strings from nylon, violins from violas. The dynamics are excellent and background incredibly black. In Jacintha Goes To Hollywood. Que Sera Sera, in the opening accordian piece, you hear the keys lifting under the fingers of the accordian player. The system benefited alot from the upgrades. I listen mostly to small jazz combos, vocals and classical. Broke put with some 30 year old classic rock vinyl over the weekend (hadn't listened to them in years) and was floored by the sound. I received the 3 SACD set Jazz at the Pawnshop last night and just couldn't stop listening. You just felt where each instrument was and I actually felt they were in the room with me - work night so no wine either!

Hi Cerrot,

Thanks for the feedback.

Out of interest have you tried using the unbalanced connection between the Sanders pre and pwr amp and compared that to the balanced connection? Reason i ask is because the internal circuitry of the Sanders pre-amp is not balanced. A balanced input amplifier converts the signal to unbalanced for operation through the preamp. In theory at least the unbalanced connection should be superior - but i wondered if you had tested that in practise.

Second, have you tried any other pre-amps with the Sanders power amp? If so, would you mind sharing what you tried and what your assessment was?

Some of the differences in experience between you and Cmk are bound to come down to your respective taste in musical presentation.

Cheers

I was under the impression that the preamp is balanced. I thought I discussed with Roger when I switched from single ended to balanced. I may be wrong. The balanced was a fuller sound with deeper and wider soundstage. More air around the instruments. More of a hologram, if you will.

I first used inexpensive balanced cables and all it did was lower the noise floor. When I went to the Tara Labs RSC Air One and The One on CD player, the difference was much, much more noticible, to what I described in the aforementioned. I tried an Ayre preamp - forgot model but it was $3,000 and I liked the innersound more. It was richer, more lifelike, better transparency, dynamics and just an addictive sound (to me). Again, I think the synergy with the rest of the system has alot to do with it.

I have been using the Sanders ESL amp for several months and I just love it! It sounds very neutral and has great control over my Dali Helicon 400 speakers. I initially used it with a Rowland Synergy IIi, which is a very nice combination. I now use the Dodd Audio battery powered preamp, which sound wonderful with the amp! The only "issue" I am experiencing is the higher gain/voltage from the preamp. I barely turn the volume control past 8 on CDs or 9 on LPs. Roger also makes some very inexpensive and very good sounding ICs. He is a pleasure to deal with, as he worked with me to figure why there was so much noise when using my JRDG balanced preamp into the balanced inputs of the ESL. I did not know this, but Roger told me that there is no universal standard for balanced equipment and he offered to rewire the ESL to make it compatible with my Rowland preamp. I decided to stick with the Dodd after an audition and avoid the hassle of sending the amp back to be rewired. The neat thing about the Sanders amp is that it is designed to be left on all of the time, so it is ready to go. It consumes only 6 watts at idle, plus it stays cool to the touch. Roger's White Papers on amps and cables make for very informative and interesting reading.