Sanders ESL Power Amp & Mono blocks

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.

I own the Sanders ESL amp and it's spectacular. I use it to drive my martin logan summits and the sheer volume of clean, crystal clear sound this amp is capable of producing is simply staggering. The power and control this amp exhibits are something that must be experienced to be believed.

I've even paired it with my Whatmough 505s in my second system, and even though it's designed with electrostats in mind, it made those babies sing like I was sitting front and center at a concert hall. Transparent, rich, and lifelike. The instruments came to life with a warmth and timbre that absolutely blew my mind.

It has virtually limitless power, is stable down to 1 ohm, and Roger, the owner/slash designer is a totally cool guy who will PERSONALLY help you with any inquiries you may have. The level of personal attention is amazing.

In short, I'd buy one again in a heartbeat, and I recommend them to ANYONE running electrostats or any other difficult-to-drive loads.

If you find one out there for a good price, GRAB IT!

04-26-10: Punishen1
[...] In short, I'd buy one again in a heartbeat, and I recommend them to ANYONE running electrostats or any other difficult-to-drive loads.

I agree. In my quest to find the ultimate ESL i've powered a number of them with the Sanders ESL amp. It has worked flawlessly everytime. Many solid-state amps pop fuses (or much worse) with ESL loads. This has not been my experience to date with the Sander's product.