Sumiko • Pearl MM Cartridge
It’s a sad truth that the best often costs money, and lots of it. High-end audio is no different: the market is replete with numerous examples of multi-kilo buck gear of all types, including cartridges. Fortunately for the vast majority of us mortals who aren’t well-heeled, one needn’t spend a huge pile of cash to enjoy listening to records. There are lots of reasonably-priced audio components out there, one example being the Sumiko Pearl cartridge.
Description
The Pearl is the middle model in Sumiko’s Oyster series of phono cartridges, and is the top moving magnet (MM) cartridge in that series. It features a plastic body, an aluminum cantilever, and an elliptical diamond stylus. In addition to the cartridge itself, the Pearl’s package contains mounting hardware (made of aluminum but including a nylon washer to avoid damaging the tonearm to which the cartridge is attached), a screwdriver, and a cleaning brush.
Sound Quality
Even though it would never be used with such a turntable in practice, I wanted to give the Pearl the best chance to shine that I could, so I mounted it into my Forsell Air Reference’s air bearing tone arm and used my reference system for most of my evaluation. I also partnered it with the PrimaLuna DiaLogue One and its internal phono stage, the PhonoLogue, to test it with a more realistically priced amplifier.
Fair warning: when I first played the Pearl, it sounded very veiled and bottom heavy. But after a few dozen hours, the sound improved a lot. The moral of this story? If you’re planning to audition the Pearl, make sure it has been thoroughly burned in first. My listening notes were made after the cartridge had been playing in my system for a couple of dozen hours, tracking at 1.98 g (just under the recommended 2.0 g).
Listening to Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells [Virgin Records V2001], I thought the treble of the piano and bells in the opening minutes, although a bit soft at the higher frequencies, was pretty good. The Pearl didn’t have the air and sparkle of my usual cartridge, although given the price difference that is hardly a fair expectation! The decay of the triangle in Troika, from Prokofiev’s Lt. Kije [Classic Records/RCA Victor LSC-2150], was well portrayed.
The bass was acceptable (although the extreme bottom end was rolled off some), but I detected a bass “hump”, possibly caused by a resonance of some type being excited, which tended to make the sound a little “one note”. The Pearl also had a slight tendency to exaggerate spoken or sung “p” sounds, like the one at the beginning of the word “piano”, which might be an artefact of the same resonance.
The Pearl handled the midrange, like voices and piano, reasonably well, although I could hear some grain and veiling. Not a huge amount, and not enough to detract too much from the music, but it was there nonetheless.
Although dynamics were a touch constrained (as exemplified by the bass drum in Lt. Kije’s first movement) and low level details were masked, the soundstage presented by the Pearl was very wide: when partnered with appropriate ancillaries, the soundstage extended beyond the edge of my speakers. Imaging was also good: when listening to Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain and Who Were You Talking To from Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Shaka Zulu [WEA 925 582-1], the arch formed by the singers behind the lead singer, Joseph Shabalala, was easily discernible.
Verdict
The Sumiko Pearl is a worthy contender in the reasonably priced MM cartridge market. A few small deficiencies aside (which I have described previously), the sound quality is quite good, considering the Pearl’s modest price. It is definitely worth considering, especially if your system could use a little help in the bass department.
Specifications
Description Moving magnet cartridge.
Frequency response 12-30,000 Hz.
Output voltage 4.0 mV.
Channel separartion 30 dB.
Channel balance 0.5 dB.
Compliance 15 (x 10-6 cm/dyne).
Stylus size 5 x 20 micrometres.
Recommended loading 47 kOhms.
Tracking force 1.5-2.0 g.
Weight 6.0 g.
Serial number of unit reviewed N/A.
Price $95.
Warranty One year non-transferable.
Manufacturer
Sumiko
2431 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710 1N2
USA
(510) 843-4500
www.sumikoaudio.net
Associated Equipment
Analogue source Forsell Air Reference Mk 2 turntable and arm.
Phono cartridge Lyra Parnassus.
Phono stage Allnic Audio Labs H-3000.
Preamps Audio Research SP9 Mk 2.
Power amplifiers PrimaLuna ProLogue Seven.
Integrated amplifier PrimaLuna DiaLogue One.
Speakers MartinLogan Spire.
Cables Phono: Audio Video Unleashed Pura Vida. Interconnects: Audio Video Unleashed Pura Vida and Nordost Frey. Speaker: Nordost Frey. AC: stock.
Accessories Target and SolidSteel equipment stands; Mission Isoplat; Furman Elite 15-PFi power conditioner; Audio Physic cartridge demagnetiser; Last record and stylus cleaning products; The Cartridge Man tracking force gauge.