SUMO Athena IIb / Polaris IIIb

Athena IIb preamp, Balanced outputs, 4 line inputs, 2 tape loops, 2 RCA pre outs

Polaris IIIb power amp, 120wpc MOS-FET design. Balanced inputs.


SUMO Electric Co. was the brainchild of "eccentric genius" James Bongiorno who has enjoyed a long and distinguished career with the likes of Marantz, Dynaco, SAE, GAS, SUMO, Harman-Kardon and now Spread Spectrum Technologies. In other words, the bloke who thought these things up was pretty good

HiFi World recomended components for many years. They are chunky and solid with 19" rack mountings in typical American style, functional rather than beautiful.

I bought these in 1999 from the Music Mill in Edinburgh and enjoyed them hugely. They produce a big, well balanced sound with plenty of oomph for difficult speakers and demanding material but can be delicate and subtle too. They retain resolution and drive at low volumes and are generally very good all round. In 2003 the upgrade bug bit and I looked around for a while to find something that would be a real improvement on the SUMOs. I eventually bought an Accuphase pre/power which should tell you something about the Athena/Polaris! I kept the SUMOs as I'm a terrible hoarder and always had the idea of second/third/fourth systems but the time has come and they have to go.

These cost £1750 when new. Offers by PM please.