Sumiko Songbird Cartridge Review

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Sumiko Songbird Cartridge Review

Рет қаралды 17,033

Күн бұрын

A high-output moving coil design, Paul Rigby reviews this new, rather ‘naked’, cartridge.
To read the review on my Blog click: theaudiophilem...
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THE VINYL WALL
Wondered what the vinyl is sitting on the shelves behind me? Here's a list in full. I've included links in case you'd like to purchase too. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I try to find the pressings I show here but, if I cannot find those, I'll try to source something close. Thank you.
Low - Songs for a Dead Pilot
UK - amzn.to/3bdIim2
USA - amzn.to/2Kd2Tej
Euro - amzn.to/3aid2Bh
Magna Carta - Seasons
UK - amzn.to/3aesU7D
USA - amzn.to/2VfsOZa
Euro - amzn.to/2yqDxqY
New Order - Power, Corruption And Lies
UK - amzn.to/2RL3dFc
USA - amzn.to/3akzj14
Euro - amzn.to/2Kazstq
Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special
UK - amzn.to/2VCTVwf
USA - amzn.to/3csl2km
Euro - amzn.to/3ey0A3p
Anne Shelton - My Heart Sings
UK - amzn.to/2RLTfDU
USA - amzn.to/2KhnLB2
Euro - amzn.to/3clibtw
CREDITS
Old Bossa by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
creativecommon...
Artist: www.twinmusicom...
REFERENCE
Funk Firm Little Super Deck
Audiolab 6000A amplifier
Trichord Dino phono amplifier
Spendor A1 speakers
Tellurium Q cabling
Blue Horizon Professional Rack System
Harmonic Resolution Systems Noise Reduction Components
All vinyl was cleaned using an Audio Desk’s Ultrasonic Pro Vinyl Cleaner

Пікірлер: 44

@amarcy5369 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks mr audiophile man for another great video yes it’s the hi end of hifi but hifi is a mix of a myriad of price items Thanks to you And your knowledgeable advice I now have a rega phono stage and rega psu to go with my rega P3 deck as far as I’m concerned knowledge is king And if you’re in the market for such a cartridge ie your many subscribers may be well enlightened. keep well keep safe regards Mike

@Hypofx 2 жыл бұрын

thank you great video - I have now a Goldring Eroica LX looking for an upgrade I really like the sound of the eroica.

@Arcturian1111 4 жыл бұрын

I purchased many cartridges in the past 5 years, never spending more than $100 bucks or so wether used or new. One of my all time favorites because of price and prrformance is my $34 all in one Ortofon Omega. Had it for two years still sings like a songbird. I love my Stanton 500. All of my various ATs are awesome too. I do have a Shure V15 III that is spectacular as well. I would never pay more than $100 bucks on any Cartridge w Stylus.

@adamsensenig5750 4 жыл бұрын

I hear ya. I'd rather buy a decent stylus at a more modest price and spend my disposable income on the vinyl itself. But if I wiped my ass with 100$ bills, maybe then I'd buy a 1k$+ stylus.

@adamsensenig5750 4 жыл бұрын

I'm currently running an ortofon OM20 and I love it. Good enough for these ears for sure.

@RandySpeer 2 күн бұрын

Is there a benefit of going MC over MM if you do NOT have a balanced chain?

@alwaysuptosomething9394 2 жыл бұрын

I was looking for a review of this cartridge and do appreciate the elaborate story here. I am however inclined to suggest that even the most mediocre of cartridges will most certainly benefit from close to correct azimuth and SRA. These for me are of vital importance, having a decent cartridge with poor alignment is as good as playing a guitar with one string tuned sharper than it should. I have never listened to a songbird but had the Evo iii for many years, till I discovered dynavector. Thank you nonetheless I say close to correct because nothing can be absolutely precise in real world circumstances. We are subjected to varied thickness of LPs, raising or lowering VTA ever so slightly. LPs often don't spin on a flat axis, again making miniscule changes to azimuth as it is being played. So perhaps what the manufacturer suggests is that this is a cartridge that is less susceptible to changes under real world circumstances.

@JohnSmith-of4vh 3 жыл бұрын

This cartridge may also work well with valve phono stages that do not feature an inbuilt SUT. Infact much like the popular Sumiko Blue Point no.2 & Dynavector 10X cartridges.

@MichaelDoran-gh6pv 2 ай бұрын

I don't see a contradiction between the choice of an elliptical stylus by the manufacturer and the fact that the accompanying booklet covers VTA etc. They aren't saying such things aren't important ; they are just providing a needle choice that makes the nth degree of adjustment non critical.

@jameskolar9655 10 ай бұрын

That’s a bucket load of cash! I’ve been considering this cartridge, I’ll have to sell my house to buy one! Oh well, I can always get a caravan too?

@legione1capone Жыл бұрын

What have you found that would give a little more focus but still have emotion? I'm all about the emotion you can feel from a song but don't want to fully compromise.

@carolsaxton839 3 жыл бұрын

I had the sumiko evo 3 at £ 600,great cartridge ,but because it’s naked in build ,it’s easy to damage,as mine did after 12 months!replaced it with a sound Smith othello.

@kenq7948 10 ай бұрын

I'm still using mine. After about five years, I'm shopping for a replacement now

@damienmercer4731 2 жыл бұрын

…alrighty, as an official owner of this cart…. It really SINGGGGSSSSS… After about a month and a half of weekly use for 2 hours it just came ALIVE (breaking in) I’m really enjoying it… I would say its worth the $950 I paid for it….

@ColocasiaCorm Жыл бұрын

seems reasonable to me. a high-end cartridge that tries to minimize how fussy it is. that's reasonable isn't it? even if I spend hours (which I do) setting up, I have little confidence in my optimization and my setup abilities. maybe my skills aren't good enough, or my tuning not precise enough to get within 0.1deg and 0.1g of optimal.

@laurelhardy4064 4 жыл бұрын

Audio-technica VM540ML is a 220 pound cartridge and it has a micro-line stylus, if audio-technica can do it for that price, why can't other manufactures?

@TheAudiophileMan 4 жыл бұрын

It's more to do with the recipe of design components, materials used, how they're put together and more. Including how the company wants its cartridge to be 'voiced'. That is, the sonic direction it wants to go with it. So you can't really compare like with like on these things, I've found. Hence why testing is so useful. But it is intriguing that Sumiko has gone down this route, yes.

@julianchamberlain5399 2 жыл бұрын

How does an ortofon rondo red compare with a sumiko songbird? I have a rondo red and the sound is a bit bright and not much warmth and bass.

@froidd758 2 жыл бұрын

Would the Songbird be a considerable upgrade to the Goldring 1042 which is currently installed on my TT? I have seen your review on the GR 1042. I am considering upgrading to an MC cartridge to be installed on my VPI Prime Scout.

@TheAudiophileMan 2 жыл бұрын

I would say no, Dylan. What's your MC budget?

@froidd758 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheAudiophileMan what can you suggest on a $1500 budget?

@mikemcguinness1304 3 жыл бұрын

Good for the rega p6 and elex r? An upgrade from an exact

@TheAudiophileMan 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Mike - for the Rega, I'd look at something like a Hana MC.

@mikemcguinness1304 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheAudiophileMan nice one brother... I'm also looking at a pair of atc scm11... But need to earn the overtime first... Maybe you could do a review?

@Flush75 4 жыл бұрын

Serious question: Can you speak without trying to land a jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier? (whoa, I'm dizzy from all the hand flailing)

@TheAudiophileMan 4 жыл бұрын

Serious answer? No.

@NickP333 8 ай бұрын

@@TheAudiophileManHey there, Paul. I know this comment is old news at this point, but I enjoy your, “delivery”. Your style of reviewing something or just talking about music has an excitement to it, and it’s infectious. It just seems natural and says to the viewer that you’re being honest with your words. I’m a friend of Nadine’s, otherwise known as souldisco. I watched the entire livestream, mostly regarding the Degritter as it was happening. I asked a few questions which Nadine kindly put them onscreen, which you answered with obvious truth and excitement. When one is passionate about a hobby, that’s just what’s going to happen. I just did a 24 hour livestream last Sunday going into Monday on a channel I’m the cohost on every Sunday night with my friend, George Borden. We were celebrating 1,000 subs, which we actually kinda blew right through and are already close to 1,200. We gave away a Stones mono boxset. We made it through I’m sure mostly in part to what I just explained about you and our passion for music recording and reproduction. Thanks for your excellent channel, Paul. 🔊😊🎶 - Nick P

@georgedoughly8682 3 жыл бұрын

The Cure-Pornography is an Excellent album!!!

@rach623 4 жыл бұрын

So this is an idiot proof cart, interesting. I like the naked aesthetics by the way.

@8love87 3 жыл бұрын

Why not 1k or 10k... money are for spending...

@thelegendnedk 2 жыл бұрын

Nice articulate review Mr AM ! do we detect slight scouse accent

@TheAudiophileMan 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Ray and yes, we do :)

@thelegendnedk 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheAudiophileMan My wife noticed it ! regards from Liverpool

@charlescaligiuri7053 3 жыл бұрын

You should include music playing much more rather than just verbalized your sound impressions

@TheAudiophileMan 3 жыл бұрын

Do you mean wallpaper muzak playing in the background? That kind of thing irritates me when I hear that on KZfaq channels so, no. Or do you mean music from the vinyl via the cart under review? That's a short cut to trouble and a copyright strike from KZfaq. So no again. Even if I could get away with it I wouldn't. Any sound you would hear would be a nice noise but would *in no way* represent the actual product under review due to the 50 levels of compression and sonic changes as the music travelled from my listening room to your ears. You would effectively only be hearing your viewing device, *not* the product in the video. So, no, thrice no. I take my channel seriously. I'm not in the business of deception.

@user-rt1fh3tf4o 6 ай бұрын

Just found this, yes I know it's a long time ago, but for goodness sake stop filming yourself so much and play some records with your reviews. Cheers.

@TheAudiophileMan 6 ай бұрын

No. Copyright. Ban. Death. End.

@user-rt1fh3tf4o 6 ай бұрын

@@TheAudiophileMan Okay. Thanks. Happy. Listening.

@pspicer777 4 жыл бұрын

Hmm, £900? ... my entire hi-fi setup is less than half of that. Time to speak to wifey .. 😬

@bjornodin 5 ай бұрын

This is why we don't read!

@imagesbyjonevan3890 3 жыл бұрын

power corruption and lies...good choice

@pdemetriou92 4 жыл бұрын

..... £900! Have you lost your mind??!!! 😱.....

@sidvicious3129 4 жыл бұрын

Bin Baz, I know right, but unfortunately there are cartridges that are 4 to 10 times that amount.

@TheAudiophileMan 4 жыл бұрын

In the grand scheme of things, if you look at the hifi industry as a whole and the cartridge products within it, the price point on this example is pretty small beer. For example, I'm currently running a cartridge with a solid diamond cantilever, priced at £10,000. I realise that lots of people can't afford a £900 cart (I couldn't if I wasn't doing this job!) which is one reason why I'm looking at a budget model from the same company - check out the video on Friday.