Review: Sumiko Black Pearl, a fantastic budget cartridge!

For those of you attempting to put together a nice sounding vinyl rig on a budget, there aren't a lot of options for new cartridges besides those that sound bright, thin, and edgy in conjunction with poor performance. In fact, I think that many people have been discouraged from attempting to upgrade their analog system due to awful initial experiences with this medium, having been the recipient of the implied promise of rich, full, hi-rez sound of legend from these mysterious black plastic discs only to find that it's not really so easy in real life to obtain satisfying results. If you are in search of a ridiculously good cartridge that lists for a mere $100 new, look no further than the Sumiko Black Pearl.

The Black Pearl is essentially a Sumiko Pearl with a .06 mil conical stylus and it's sound is smooth as silk. Compared to other similarly-priced entry level cartridges sonically, horns lose their stridency, cymbals lose their metallic edginess, and you can actually relax and listen to music. The Black Pearl is dark, warm, and inviting with a distinct liquidity and softness which make this an excellent mate for cheap turntables as it will mitigate harshness. The Black Pearl allows you to hear each record as a whole piece and even tolerate particularly bright pressings because the Sumiko extracts the music from them without being overbearing. Listening to a Blue Note reissue Wayne Shorter lp that has always sounded nasty to me, I notice that the formerly gritty, shrieky, metallic scream of the saxophone has become a smoky, warm and mellow instrument with a breathy, woody quality that makes it sound flute-like. The cartridge tends to accentuate the most pleasant and sensual aspects of each individual instrument vs masking over the entire performance with dull coloration, although there may be a smattering of that going on.

In summation, the Sumiko Black Pearl is eminently listenable and gorgeous but restrained and dynamically challenged with a slight tendency to sound like what it is: a budget cartridge. I still love it.

Cons? There is a minute degree of honky lower midrange and boxy, chalky, subdued bass in addition to a general lack of definition. I would not describe the sound of this cartridge as "huge". While placing softness and sweetness in the spotlight, bass loses some of it's visceral grip and other aspects of the music have less impact. Tracking ability is perfectly acceptable, better than average, but not the best in the world. Like anything else in this business, it's a trade off. I can tell you that the Sumiko Black Pearl does most definitely deliver excellent sound with a musicality score that is off the charts.


Review system:

Empire 598 turntable
DIY brass puck record weight
Bell 3030 tube amplifier
Cardas Crosslink speaker cables
Quad ESL 57 loudspeakers

 

When you're stylus becomes worn, and you need to replace it. Substitute the stock stylus with a Jico SAS Stylus-1, and you'll be blown away.

 

I used to have an early ('80s?) version of this cartridge, and enjoyed its rich midrange. It reminded me of a Grado.

 

Liked the one I had!!

 

Really?

IMO there's no comparison between it and a Grado. The Sumiko is devoid of any midrange lushness because the low end overpowers it. Worst cartridge I've ever owned.

 

That's interesting. One of the common, universal complaints about the Sumiko Pearl and Black Pearl is a lack of low frequency 'slam' or extension. When I wrote this review, I was also listening to a Grado Green and a Grado DJ100 on two different headshells. In fact, the Grados had, if anything, more low end than the Sumiko or at least it was comparable. The Sumiko midrange is smoother and more lush than Grado. Sounds like you had a setup issue.

 

Jico makes a Super Analog Stylus for the Pearl? That's intriguing.

 

No, the stylus-1 is a replacement for the Jico MM1 cartridge, which it's body has the exact same form factor as the Sumiko Pearl and Black Pearl.

 

That's good to know that this option exists. However, extracting every bit of minute detail from my vinyl is not my goal. I prefer something forgiving.

 

It's been a long time since I had it, and I was using it with an aftermarket stylus.

It does sound like you were experiencing a system or arm mismatch though.

 

Okay point taken, but I'm running very revealing speakers, and it's the smoothest combination I own. I do understand that the stylus costs more than the whole stock cartridge.

I had an extra stylus lying around, and bought a Pearl for $19 on eBay after hearing it worked well with the Stylus-1.

 

I can assure you both there was no mismatch or anything wrong with the setup. There were some others who felt the same as I, so I know I'm not alone in this conclusion. However, it matters little as the more important thing is that you prefer it and like it.

 

Not me, I am solidly in the Grado club now!

 

I was hoping you were still running this combo. It sounds very intriguing. I love all those modestly products that are over acheivers!

 

I am still running it, in between that I run my Shure M91ED with the same styli. Like you, I like overachievers also.

If you really want a bang for the buck, buy a used Shure M91ED (usually less than $25),and win a Jico elliptical replacement stylus from "stereoneedleslady" on eBay for $13 shipped. Less than $50 of nice analog goodness.

I apologize for the derailment.

 

I will trade my Shure M91ED with original Shure stylus to anyone who has a Sumiko Pearl for exchange.

 

I thought you already had a Pearl.

 

I have three turntables and one Pearl.

 

Sumiko Pearl/Shelter 201 with Jico SAS Stylus-1.

 

Beautiful.

 

I'm listening to another old Blue Note record right now with the Sumiko Black Pearl right now. It's astounding. This cartridge just will not be strident. It refuses to do so. It's a joy to listen to. I love the mellow, full, alluring, and brassy quality of the horns. This is rare to be heard. The downside is that there seems to be a fair amount of surface noise with this cartridge. I suspect that is because .06 mil is riding right in the wear pattern. Looking forward to upgrading my stylus to either the Pearl or the recommended SAS unit we've discussed.

 

A couple of updates:

I've found that I really like my Grado DJ100 cartridge after putting it on other tables and tonearms. It works really well on my Empire 980 arm and it sounds fantastic on my friend's Rega arm. The DJ100 is worth considering as a smooth sounding budget cartridge as well. But the Grado DJ series will get it's own thread and review soon, so not to get side-tracked, but I know we discussed Grados in this thread.

Regarding the Sumiko Pearl/Black Pearl:

1) The bad news is that there seem to be example to example quality variations. I recently purchased another Sumiko Pearl and it sounds noticeably different from the other Pearl body I had been listening to. I swapped styli and the difference remains. The bodies do not sound the same. On the newer one, midrange is a little coarse and there is something subtly unrefined and in-your-face about the sound, echoing the observations of Johnny Vinyl above, though not nearly as extreme. My older Pearl body sounds much more laid back and refined.

2) Thus far, I have the .06 mil spherical Black Pearl stylus and I have the .02 x .08 Pearl stylus. Today I received the .07 Jico replacement that I purchased from turntableneedles.com as an experiment. Sometimes larger spherical styli can sound very nice on older records. They can also have a smoother sound as they obviously do not retrieve as much HF information from the grooves. Well, the stylus arrived in the most bizarre manner I have ever witnessed. The shaft (not the cantilever) is covered in corrosion that looks like rust. Bear in mind this is a new stylus, not a vintage NOS product. Aside from that issue, the stylus doesn't even fit in the Pearl body. You can insert it part of the way, but to finish the job I would have to jam it in there with so much force, I would be concerned about being able to remove it successfully without damaging something. I have no idea what this is all about, but I am returning the stylus without trying it, unfortunately.

 

I bought a Shelter 201 and am about to install it on my secondary TT the Rega RP1. Although the specs are different than that of the Sumiko Pearl, people keep insisting it is the Sumiko Pearl under the Shelter name. I'm really confused. If they're the same cart, will the Jico SAS fit the Shelter 201? Will the Jico improve the sound?

 

I have one Sumiko Pearl and I am wondering if I could fit the stylus of Oyster or a stylus of Black Pearl in the body of Pearl.
My goal is to play old 45s and mono Lps.
So I need to use a conical stylus.
Any opinions are welcome.
Thank You.

 

Just the person I wanted to talk to. I had one installed in my turntable about a month ago. My question to you is, do you use a subwoofer in conjunction with your turntable? I am getting absolutely no bass response from my SW with the Black Pearl!! I'm going nuts trying to determine if that's simply the nature of the cartridge (in which case I have to say that I'm not thrilled with it) or was it hooked up wrong..?? Subwoofer issue aside, it's not a bad sounding cartridge but like you point out, it's not much on definition or low end.