Sumiko Songbird High, turntable cartridge

INFORMATION

Sumiko Songbird High is a high-class MC (Moving Coil) phono cartridge, designed to reproduce music naturally. This model allows you to enjoy true analog sound even in systems with an MM phono input, making it an excellent choice for both advanced and demanding listeners. The unique open-architecture design reduces internal resonances that often distort sound in conventional cartridges. Sumiko Songbird High is handcrafted in Japan using the highest quality materials and precise assembly. This ensures not only exceptional sound quality but also durability and reliability.

Type: MC (Moving Coil)
Weight: 7.4 g
Stylus type: Elliptical (0.3 x 0.7 mil)
Internal Impedance: 135 Ω
Load Impedance: 47 kΩ
Frequency Response: 12 Hz – 40 kHz
Output: 2.5 mV

DESCRIPTION

We have created Songbird High to make genuine moving coil refinement available to listeners with MM phono stages. It benefits from our famous open-architecture design that prevents intrusive resonance from coloring and distorting sound. It is clear but not forward, approaching music with tonal balance and cohesive, intelligent soundstaging. Highs are sweet and extended, mids are rich and clear. Bass is full, textured and deep-reaching. There is an understated elegance in its ability to effortlessly portray the whole sonic picture — nothing overdone, nothing underdone. Free of fatiguing distractions, it draws you deeply into the soundstage wherein you can enjoy the most intimate nuances of your favorite recordings. Images are confidently suspended and rife with dynamic allure, always encouraging you keep on listening.

Our Reference Series Open-Body MCs
Our Reference Series open-architecture cartridges minimize the potential for coloration and distortion due to energy buildup that is sometimes propagated by the conventional cartridge body. Internal resonance is damped within the generator while remaining resonance travels up through the bonded mounting plate & headblock, then down the tonearm where it is dissipated harmlessly. The PEEK generator mounting plate provides the utmost stability and energy transfer while the stiff alloy headblock is the conduit through which that energy exits the cartridge. The generator itself minimizes distortion and losses through the implementation of pure metals and intelligent orientation of the same. The performance of this sophisticated generator is bolstered by our multi-faceted approach to resonance control, precipitating to clean, musical, and highly listenable sonics.

Trade In or Trade Up
As user-replaceable styli are not on an option for MC phono cartridges, remember that any of our MCs, functional or otherwise, can be returned to your dealer in a re-tip exchange — a discount on a new cartridge of equal or greater value — sparing you expense when your stylus heads south. *Note: The trade-in program is valid for US customers only.

Hand-Crafted in Japan
Each Sumiko phono cartridge is hand-assembled by the world-class cartridge makers at Excel Sound in Yokohama, Japan – a relationship we’ve proudly maintained for nearly forty years. We use only the finest materials that combine to deliver performance that has enlightened generations of listeners. Each design is thoroughly auditioned until it meets our stringent standards for sound. Production is then executed by expert craftsmen with a collective eye for precision & quality. The result is a family of cartridges that render emotion through tonally balanced, refined and fatigueless analog reproduction.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Mass & Dimension
7.4g (See Tech Drawing)
Stylus
Elliptical (0.3 x 0.7mil)
Cantilever
⌀0.5mm Reinforced Aluminum Pipe
Coils
High-Purity Copper
Internal Impedance
135Ω (1kHz)
Load Impedance
47kΩ
Frequency Response
12Hz – 40kHz
Output
2.5mV (3.54cm/sec, 1kHz)
Channel Separation
30dB (1kHz)
Channel Balance
<0.5dB (1kHz)
Compliance
12×10-6cm/dyn (100Hz)
Capacitance
100pF – 200pF
Vertical Tracking Angle
20°
Tracking Force Range
1.8g – 2.2g
Recommended Tracking Force
2.0g