SUMIKO Has Landed at Audio T Southampton

Here at Audio T Southampton, we like to think we have a pretty good knowledge of the brands available in the Hi-Fi market, but once in a very rare while, we’re caught off guard and get introduced to something completely new…

We first came across SUMIKO here in the Southampton store when a customer walked through the door and asked if we could supply them with one of their cartridges. We were initially a bit taken aback as we had not heard of SUMIKO before, but boy are we glad we do now.

We were intrigued by this ellusive brand and ordered in three products from their range - Two moving magnet and one moving coil.

I went out to a customers house with the Blue Point No3 Moving Coil model in hand to put it up against his current cartridge on his Michell Gyrodec. It’s safe to say that the SUMIKO blew his cartridge away! I was amazed at how much detail and depth it had in comparison. It changed the whole soundstage of his Gyrodec. It sounded much more open and you could hear every note cleanly. We tried a few different albums from Elvis and The Beach Boys to classics like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon and Dire Straight's’ Brothers In Arms.

I left the customer with a new cartridge and huge smile on his face, and in all honesty, I couldn’t hide my large grin either.

I have since tried different SUMIKO cartridges on a few different turntables in store, and each time I am amazed at the way it breathes new life into each one!

A brief history of SUMIKO

For over 40 years, SUMIKO have provided an array of phono pick-up cartridges to discerning audio enthusiasts around the world. Boasting a portfolio of products that touches all price points and technologies.

David Fletcher with “the arm”

SUMIKO was founded in 1972 in Japan by three people, notably of which was American theoretical physicist David Fletcher. Before he co-founded SUMIKO he used to work for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, working on various different research projects. Unfortunately David Fletcher passed away early into 2021 at the age of 81.

Fun Fact: SUMIKO was named after one of the founders' wives.

MDC 800 Tonearm and Talisman A Cartridge

In the early days of SUMIKO they used to provide two services; the first being the import side of the business with introducing new and different brands to North America, ranging from Koetsu, Grace and many more. The other aspect of SUMIKO company is what they are primarily known for these days; that being, their spectacular cartridges, starting with the Talisman MC cartridges of which there were four: A, B, S and the Virtuoso. Another one of their founding products was the MDC 800 Tonearm, appropriately nicknamed "The Arm".

The RAINIER MM and Palo Santos MC Cartridges

Nowadays SUMIKO focus on their range of cartridges, with them now producing two different ranges, from the Oyster Series featuring the Rainier MM cartridges, all the way to the phenomenal Reference Series and the stunning Palo Santos Presentation Moving Coil Cartridge.

It really is a travesty that SUMIKO is not as well known here in the UK as they deserve to be. Superb quality at a lower price than a lot of their competitors. For us it was a no brainer to start stocking these and absolutely sing their praises.

If you’re interested in hearing one of these great cartridges or want to know more about their range please don't hesitate to give us a call and arrange a demonstration.

Thanks for Reading

Wayne - Audio T Southampton.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

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SUMIKO can be found at the following Audio T stores

Arcam rBlink Bluetooth DAC Sounds Blinkin Good!

We have been mightily impressed with how good Arcam's baby rBlink Bluetooth wireless DAC sounds!

We have our diminutive box set wired into our Heed Obelisk Si Integrated & X2Power Supply connected to a pair of Spendor SA1 Loudspeakers. We use our iPad mini and iPod Touch to stream the music to the rBlink.

The DAC has excellent detail retrieval and doesn't sound too digital or harsh. It has a warmth to the presentation offering a sound akin to a good analogue turntable. It's impressive and offers a true Hi-Fi audiophile sound with the added convenience of allowing you to be able to control your music from the comfort of your armchair using any device that has Bluetooth.

It's simple to set up too! Just turn on Bluetooth on your phone / tablet and with one press of a button on the R-Blink you are connected.

It's even converted our very own Farid Beheshti who like Jon Finch is a died in the wool analogue Hi-Fi purist. It's that good it has converted Farid to the digital world and he has just bought the rBlink and a shiny new iPad mini!

Drop by have a cuppa with us and be converted!