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.
Re-Tip/Exchange:
Only $1499.99
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).
The Sumiko Starling handles even the most demanding passages with effortless poise and convincing drive!
Sumiko's new flagship open-architecture moving coil cartidge uses the same resonance-reducing body design as the Songbird, but introduces a long-grain boron cantilever and a Micro-Ridge nude stylus. This allows the Starling to render the grandeur of an orchestra while still preserving air and space, and also realize every detail of a nuanced Jazz recording with its responsive dynamics and deep silences. The mechanical silence of the Starling concedes a dynamic linearity across the entire spectrum that allows it to handle even the most demanding passages with effortless poise and convincing drive.
"The Reference Starling slapped me in the face. While I know that Sumiko has been in the cartridge business forever, and obviously should know by now how to make a good cartridge, I hadnÂ’t expected this level of performance for a (pretty much) affordable price. If youÂ’re looking for a new phono cartridge and youÂ’re dithering by $1000 to either side of the StarlingÂ’s $1899 price, I think you owe it to yourself to consider either raising your budget to get into a true high-end moving-coil, or lowering it to save some bucks. Highly recommended." - Jason Thorpe, soundstageultra.com, July 2018
Specifications:
Cartridge Type: Moving Coil
Stylus: Micro-Ridge nude stylus
Cantilever Material: Boron
Wire Material: Pure copper
Internal Impedance: 28 Ohms
Load Impedance: Greater than 100 Ohms
Frequency Response: 12Hz - 50kHz
Output Voltage: 0.5mV
Channel Separation: 35dB @ 1kHz
Channel Balance: Less than 0.5dB @ 1KHz
Compliance: 12x10-6 cm/dyn @ 100Hz
Recommended Load Capacitance: 100pf - 200pF
Vertical Tracking Angle: 20 degrees
Tracking Force: 1.8g - 2.2g
Recommended Force: 2.0g
Cartridge Weight: 9.5g