Sumiko Oriole MC Cartridge 0.3mV

In Stock	An In Stock item is available to ship normally within 24 business hours.
Preorder	A Preorder is an item that has not yet been released. Typically the label will set a projected release date (that is subject to change). If a projected release date is known, we will include this in the description in red. Other Preorders are set to release 'TBA.' This means that release date is yet 'To Be Announced'. The Preorder can be released anywhere between weeks, months or years from its initial announcement.
Backordered	An Out Of Stock item is an item that we normally have available to ship but we are temporarily out of. We do not have a specific date when it will be coming.
Awaiting Repress	Awaiting repress titles are in the process of being repressed by the label. No ETA is available at this time.
Expected On	When an item is Out Of Stock and we have an estimated date when our stock should arrive, we list that date on our website in the part's description. It is not guaranteed.
Special Order	A Special Order item is an item that we do not stock but can order from the manufacturer. Typical order times are located within the product description.

In Stock

An In Stock item is available to ship normally within 24 business hours.

Preorder

A Preorder is an item that has not yet been released. Typically the label will set a projected release date (that is subject to change). If a projected release date is known, we will include this in the description in red. Other Preorders are set to release 'TBA.' This means that release date is yet 'To Be Announced'. The Preorder can be released anywhere between weeks, months or years from its initial announcement.

Backordered

An Out Of Stock item is an item that we normally have available to ship but we are temporarily out of. We do not have a specific date when it will be coming.

Awaiting Repress

Awaiting repress titles are in the process of being repressed by the label. No ETA is available at this time.

Expected On

When an item is Out Of Stock and we have an estimated date when our stock should arrive, we list that date on our website in the part's description. It is not guaranteed.

Special Order

A Special Order item is an item that we do not stock but can order from the manufacturer. Typical order times are located within the product description.

Description

This item not eligible for any further discount offers!

Trade-In Pricing: Receive a credit valued at 30% of the original retail price of any modern Sumiko moving coil cartridge towards the purchase of a Sumiko moving coil cartridge of equal or greater value.

Trade instructions: If you purchase this cartridge with a trade-in, please note when you check out your total will show the normal sale price of this item and NOT the trade-in price. However, when we process your order, you will be charged ONLY the trade-in price. When you have received your new Sumiko cartridge, please carefully pack and ship your trade-in cartridge to us (see our website for address).

Oriole maintains the tonally balanced, refined & fatigueless character for which Sumiko is globally regarded. Enhanced with a high-efficiency, low-impedance generator as well as a nude Shibata line-contact stylus, Oriole confidently asserts itself as a meaningful upgrade from Songbird that approaches the performance of Sumiko's venerable Starling. The stylus and generator deliver impeccable detail retrieval, emotionally captivating dynamics, speedy attack and sweet resolution. Deeply musical and endlessly listenable, Oriole is alluring in its wholly analog-sounding character. It portrays musical material in natural balance with its surrounding ambience, and with life-like nuance. Silent in the groove, music blossoms from a jet-black background and invites you into the most intimate spaces of a keenly rendered soundstage.

Reference Series Open-Body MCs

Sumiko's 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 Sumiko's 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 Sumiko's 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 they have proudly maintained for nearly forty years. Sumiko uses 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.

...solid and reassuring...from its sound to its construction...this cartridge is an exemplar of modern MC performance, without the price tag of, say, a new La Cornue equipped kitchen. Spend time on the setup, especially VTA, and you'll think this cost £3000.
-Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News Outstanding Product

With less high-tempo material, the Oriole excels at detail, tonal realism and emotional engagement. There is more than enough articulation and resolving power to keep complex music intelligible and coherent, but the icing on the cake has to be its talent for live material.
-Ed Selley, Hi-Fi Choice Recommended

The sound: superb, nuanced, fluid, and characterized by remarkable delicacy and airiness. It is the antithesis of a merely 'demonstrative' cartridge—instead offering a linear presentation rich in subtle shadings and depth. Listening to it unveils an evocative sonic andscape that sacrifices neither precision nor sensitivity. It feels almost as though one has moved further upstream in the recording chain—getting as close as possible to the icrophones themselves. Subtle and authentic.
-Diapason Golden Tuning Fork (translation)

Technical Specifications

Mass & Dimension	7.3g
Stylus	Nude Shibata (6.5 x 40µm)
Cantilever	0.5mm Reinforced Aluminum Pipe
Coils	High-Purity Copper
Internal Impedance	5.5O (1kHz)
Load Impedance	>55O (determine by ear)
Frequency Response	12Hz – 45kHz
Output	0.3mV (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
Replacement Stylus Unit	Re-Tip Exchange (See Dealer)