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Key Features
By offering a low-output version of the Blackbird at 0.7 mV, Sumiko have taken advantage of a low-mass cantilever assembly to provide even faster response time and superior dynamics. With the right preamplification, the low-output Blackbird takes all of the performance features of the standard version and pushes them to the next level with the improved tracking that lightweight coils afford.
Product Ref: 208468
Designed for exceedingly low noise levels, wide dynamic range and the highest possible fidelity in its price class, the Sumiko Blackbird is destined to become an analogue classic. Each cartridge is assembled using time honoured, labour intensive techniques, hand calibrated and critically auditioned to meet the most rigorous standards of consistency.
The long grain boron cantilever chosen for the Blackbird provides excellent energy transfer from the stylus to the coils. There is, among some factors of audiophiles, a misconception that boron cartridges produce a somewhat sterile sound quality. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, the choice of a stiff cantilever necessitated excellence within the suspension design of the cartridge.
By offering a low-output version of the Blackbird at 0.7 mV, Sumiko have taken advantage of a low-mass cantilever assembly to provide even faster response time and superior dynamics. With the right preamplification, the low-output Blackbird takes all of the performance features of the standard version and pushes them to the next level with the improved tracking that lightweight coils afford.
The Blackbird builds upon the strengths of and lessons learned from the best selling, high-end cartridge in the world, The Blue Point Special. No aspect of the cartridge was left to chance. To avoid unwanted external resonance storage, the conventional cartridge body was eliminated. This allowed for the construction of the most efficient path for evacuating internal resonance through the structure of the cartridge directly onto the tonearm, This low mechanical impedance mounting system, combined with the optimisation off mass, provides the perfect environment fir the carefully chosen working elements of the cartridge
Suspension | Synthetic Rubber |
---|---|
Cartridge Type | Moving Coil (Low Output) |
Stylus Type | Low-Mass Elliptical |
Cantilever | Long-Grain Boron |
Dynamic Compliance | 12x10 - 6cm/dyn |
Frequency Response | 12Hz - 50Khz |
Output Voltage/Channel | 0.7mV |
Load Impedance | >100Ω |
Channel Separation | 35dB @ 1kHz |
Channel Balance | <0.5dB @ 1kHz |
Tracking Force Range | 1.8g - 2.2g |
Cartridge Weight | 9.6g |
Mounting System | Standard 0.5” Hole Spacing |