Improved and Easy to Use: The Sutherland Little Loco Mk2 MC Phono Preamplifier Is a Powerful Key to Wide Soundstages, Stunning Clarity, and Other Sonic Delights

The Sutherland Little Loco Mk2 MC Phono Preamplifier is a next-level performer, conveniently enabling your system to deliver grand dynamics, stunning clarity, ink-black backgrounds, subtle details, and wide soundstages. The Mk2 also represents an improvement over its predecessor.

If you frequently read audiophile magazines, you may have noticed a new kind of phono preamp design on the market, usually referred to as "current input." Until recently, this approach has been very much in the background. But the team at Sutherland is happy to say that reviewers and listeners are now giving it serious consideration and praise.

Quite simply, many audiophiles (and former skeptics) love what they hear when using the Little Loco Mk2 MC Phono Preamplifier. From the first moments of listening, we think you'll find that the Little Loco Mk2 draws you closer to the music you cherish.

With the Mk2 model of the Little Loco, there are no special requirements or concerns for signal interconnection to the turntable. The original Little Loco had an essentially balanced input signal requirement. The signal came in on both the RCA center pin and the RCA shell. There was a strict requirement that the RCA shell float above ground. The newly designed Mk2 transimpedance input stage is now single-ended. The signal comes in on the RCA center pin. The RCA shell is at ground level. The new design successfully eliminates the previous issue.

Like all Music Direct products, the Sutherland Little Loco Mk2 MC Phono Preamplifier comes with the 100% Music Direct Satisfaction Guarantee.

"During my leisurely back-and-forth comparisons, I noticed that the Little Loco preserved greater and denser amounts of low-level atmospheric information. Images were thicker and more three-dimensional. With the Loco, the back areas of the projected soundspace were filled with more 'stuff' to examine. But that's just audiophile fluff-talk. What made the Loco 'crazy good' was how it wrangled every ounce of dynamic mojo out of every recording.... Highly recommended."
—Herb Reichert, Stereophile

System Considerations

The Little Loco Mk2 presents a virtual short as the cartridge load. Instead of voltage being the input parameter, it is the current generated by the cartridge that conveys musical content. The endless worry about finding the "best" load value has been eliminated.

Your cartridge must be the moving-coil type. Low-output models perform particularly well. There are no special wiring requirements. (The Little Loco Mk2 is not compatible with moving-magnet or moving-iron cartridges or with step-up-transformers.)

Thanks to the new Little Loco Mk2 circuit, the shell of the RCA input jack is now at ground. There are no special TT cable requirements. Please contact a Music Direct audio consultant if you have any questions.