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Sumiko Cartridges Assessment

Rushboy

pfm Member
Hello all,

who knows the cartridges from Sumiko?
I find the two MM's Moonstone and Amethyst interesting.
Also interesting is the Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III pickup High Output.
Who knows Sumiko and compared with others like Goldring, Nagaoka or Audio Technica?
I am grateful for any contribution.
 
I had a Sumiko Palo Santas Presentation, an absolute wondrous thing it really was. However it had a touch too much hyper detail for me, so I px'd it for a Hana Umami Red which is absolute perfection.

I've owned a Nagaoka MP500 before and they are also a beautiful sound, but difficult to compare an MM and MC tbh, suffice to say I have never gone back to a MM after trying a Hana SL.
 
A friend of mine brought over his Blue Point Special Evo III several months ago. He thought it was faulty as it was coming out a bit quiet. It's spec'd at 2.5mv and I think the built in stage of his Denon amp was having a hard time with it.
I had it running great with my Musical Fidelity M3x Vinyl with the +6dB enabled. We didn't spend a whole lot of time setting it up perfectly as we were just testing, I found it to be very lively compared to my MP-500. Not harsh but I think for longer listening periods I would prefer the soother warmer MP-500. But again not the fairest comparison all things considered. He's now upgraded his system quite a bit and still running the Evo III as far as I know.

A Sumiko Starling will be here tomorrow so looking forward to listening to that!
 
I’ve never heard the MCs but own a Moonstone. For me it has a “real” sound, something akin to what people enjoy from tinned copper cables such as Delund. Not at all “hifi” in presentation.

The MCs are thought to be much sharper sounding AFAIK
 
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I had a Sumiko Blue Point Special on an LP12 nearly 30 years ago but didn't think much of it. Got a Denon DL304 instead - different planet.
 
I had a Sumiko Blue Point Special on an LP12 nearly 30 years ago but didn't think much of it. Got a Denon DL304 instead - different planet.

I tried BOTH about then and the DL304 was just as bad, lame. Went for Ortofon MC20/30 super ( Roxsan Xerxes RB300 arm)
 
strange about the bass as I seem to remember that was one thing that was lacking

I think the recommended VTF was about 1.2 but a lot of users tended to track it a 1.5 which suited it better and did improve the bass. One of the tracks I loved with it was Breaking in to Heaven by the Stone Roses. It has a fabulous loping bass as part of a very tight rhythm section. With the famous timing of the LP12 it always sounded exceptional.
 
A friend of mine brought over his Blue Point Special Evo III several months ago. He thought it was faulty as it was coming out a bit quiet. It's spec'd at 2.5mv and I think the built in stage of his Denon amp was having a hard time with it.
I had it running great with my Musical Fidelity M3x Vinyl with the +6dB enabled. We didn't spend a whole lot of time setting it up perfectly as we were just testing, I found it to be very lively compared to my MP-500. Not harsh but I think for longer listening periods I would prefer the soother warmer MP-500. But again not the fairest comparison all things considered. He's now upgraded his system quite a bit and still running the Evo III as far as I know.

A Sumiko Starling will be here tomorrow so looking forward to listening to that!

Hi johny,
currently gone from Blackbird (absolutely fantastic ) to Starling.... unbelievable!!!! You are in for a real treat.
Needs at least 50 hours though but then WOW!
 
Hi johny,
currently gone from Blackbird (absolutely fantastic ) to Starling.... unbelievable!!!! You are in for a real treat.
Needs at least 50 hours though but then WOW!

I've not clocked up 50 hours yet but it's already sounding very impressive. There's probably a bit more fine tweaking to do. I'll wait till it's worn in so I'm not tilting at windmills.
 
1,000 Makes of cartridges on the market all make by four OEMs , Styli & Canitlevers made by 3
 
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