Vinylphile Magazine : Equipment Reviews

Sumiko • Blue Point No. 2 MC Cartridge

By Rich Teer | December 24th, 2010

It’s probably fair to say that the first component many vinyl lovers think of upgrading—especially at the more affordable end of the market—is their cartridge. Tonearms and turntables are usually sold as a pair and upgrading one without the other can be problematic. Again, I’m talking mostly about the more entry-level gear here: it is not at all uncommon for pricier turntables and tonearms to be sold separately! Low output moving coil (MC) cartridges tend to be expensive and aren’t always a good match with budget-priced, MM-only phono stages. High output MCs provide a good way for audiophiles to upgrade to an MC cartridge without sacrificing compatibility with their phono stage, easing the upgrade expense. The Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 is one such cartridge.

Technical Description

The Blue Point No. 2 is the entry level MC cartridge in Sumiko’s Oyster series of phono cartridges, and is one model above the Pearl we recently reviewed. Like the Pearl, the Blue Point No. 2 has a plastic body, an aluminum cantilever, and an elliptical diamond stylus. The packaging contains mounting hardware (aluminum nuts and bolts, with nylon washers to prevent damaging the tonearm to which the cartridge is attached), a screw driver, and a cleaning brush.

The Blue Point No. 2 is a high output MC cartridge and the recommended loading is 47K Ohms, so it can be used with a MM phono stage.

Setup and Listening

Installation into my Forsell Air Reference’s air bearing tonearm was pretty straightforward, although the fact that the Blue Point No. 2’s body wasn’t tapped to accept the head shell mounting bolts made this more fiddly than it need be. Instead, one must use small nuts, screwing them onto the mounting bolts once they protrude through the cartridge’s body. I used my Forsell rather than something more in keeping with a $299 cartridge to give the Blue Point No. 2 a chance to sound its best.

After using the cartridge for a couple of dozen hours, I double checked the alignment and tracking weight (at 1.78 g, it was just a shade under the recommended 1.8 g), and started my formal evaluation.

Over all, I’d say the Blue Point No. 2 is a fairly neutral cartridge, with a laid back character. I could hear some rolling off of the extreme treble and bass, but don’t consider this too serious at this price point.

Modulo the bottom end roll off I mentioned previously, the Blue Point No. 2’s bass was quite reasonable. It was very similar to its little brother (the Sumiko Pearl), but without the latter’s bass hump. With the bass hump absent, the Blue Point No. 2’s bass is tuneful, and avoids the “one note” problem. For example, the bass guitar on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells [Virgin Records V2001] isn’t overblown and is easily followed.

Bass dynamics fare less well, though. The bass drum in the first and third movements (Kije’s Birth and Kije’s Wedding respectively) from Fritz Reiner’s reading of Prokofiev’s Lt. Kije [Classic Records/RCA Victor LSC-2150] should be authoritative and explosive, but with the Blue Point No. 2 it wasn’t. Oh, you can hear the drum, but it doesn’t have right weight and dynamic contrasts. Another example of this is from the part in South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Who Were You Talking to (from their 1987 album, Shaka Zulu [WEA 925 582-1]), where they stomp their feet. With the Blue Point No. 2, this stomping sounds less intense and the reverberant sound wave almost missing.

The midrange is the Blue Point No. 2’s strong point. The voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo are well reproduced (just listen to Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain and Who Were You Talking to (both on the previously cited Shaka Zulu)), and instruments have the right tone colour.

The Blue Point No. 2’s treble is also quite good, but is hampered by the high end rolloff I mentioned previously, and a lack of air around instruments like the glockenspiel and celeste. The bells and piano from the opening minutes of Tubular Bells illustrate this, as does the second movement of Lt. Kije, Romance.

Low level details are acceptable, but are hampered by some haze and grain which prevents all the little details that delight us audiophiles so much from shining through.

The soundstage is quite big (extending beyond the speakers in my room) and imaging is fine, although the image specificity suffers when multiple sources play at the same time. With more esoteric cartridges (like my Lyra Parnassus, which is admittedly a lot more than the Blue Point No. 2!), the positions of the individual singers in Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the members of the Nasal Chorus in Tubular Bells can be ascertained. However, with the Blue Point No. 2, these two are presented as one homogenous mass.

Verdict

Re-reading my comments above, one might be tempted to think that I’m slamming the Blue Point No. 2. That isn’t the impression I want to convey. What I do want to convey is this: although it does have some weaknesses, the Blue Point No. 2 is quite a strong performer when its price is factored in to the equation. It is totally unreasonable to expect a $300 cartridge to perform as well as a $3,000 one. In my opinion, the Blue Point No. 2 is very much worth considering if you’re shopping in this price range.

Specifications

Description High output moving coil cartridge.
Frequency response 15-35,000 Hz.
Output voltage 2.5 mV.
Channel separartion 32 dB.
Channel balance 0.5 dB.
Compliance 15 (x 10-6 cm/dyne).
Stylus size 7.6 x 17.8 micrometres.
Recommended loading 47K Ohms.
Tracking force 1.6-2.0 g.
Weight 6.3 g.
Serial number of unit reviewed N/A.
Price $299.
Warranty One year non-transferable.

Manufacturer

Sumiko
2431 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710 1N2
USA
(510) 843-4500
www.sumikoaudio.net

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