Sumiko Pearl

I bought this cartridge as part of a project of restoring a Thorens TD 150 , I had replaced the arm with a Linn LVX plus and changed the plinth for an aframosia Linn picked up for £25 . It sounded great , well worth the effort . I was using an audio technica AT95E and started to look for suitable upgrades around the £80 mark . I thought about the Audio technica further up the chain but decided against that course . I always liked rega cartridges from previous experiences so started looking at the current range . This is when I stumbled upon the Sumiko Pearl . It seemed to get mixed reactions from some forums I visited but something about it attracted me . I discovered that Signals in Ipswich sold both , after a quick phone call to them I decided to go for the pearl . The cartridge arrived as promissed next day and I duly installed it into my Linn Basik LVX and sat back and listened . Now the Audio Technica is a very highly reviewed cartridge and sells by the bucket load so I was not sure how much of an improvement to expect but what I got was totally unexpected !! Here is a cartridge for people who listen to music and not Hi Fi . It has a superb presentation that is neither bright nor dull . It gets right to the heart of the music in a way I just was not expecting . It has a powerfull and gutsy sound that is great with blues and rock . Detail rendition is first class but not in a glary way it just flows seemlessly . To put things into perspective my main listening is done on a fully loaded Linn with Lingo Ittok LV3 and dynavector cartridge through a Naim 52 pre amp and 200 power amp . Yet here was this £79 cartridge in a modified Thorens TD150 comunicating music as it should be . All in all I cannot recomend this cartridge highly enough assuming you have equipment that can show its beating heart for the music .

Steve Magill
11/12/11 at 07:52 PM