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Quotes From Backbird review
Audiophile Voice Vol.10 issue 3
By George Graves

"The Blue Point Special has a thin wall aluminium tube cantilver and a fairly standard elliptical diamond stylus of 3.0 by 0.8m. The new Back Bird replaces that aluminium cantilever with one made from longrained boron, a material With an incredibly high stiffness-to-mass ratio. The blackbird's diamond is a much smaller; lower mass, proprietary profile elliptical shape."

"My overall impression of the Blackbird is one of supreme refinement. Like its siblings, The BPS, The Blackbird is a good tracker. If anything,it picks up even less surface noise than the BPS and, like the older design,simply sails through whatever obstacle course that one is likely to throw at it including the imfamous Shure test record. On the "Firebird" disc (Mercury SR90226, Stravinsky, London Symphony Orchestra, Anatal Dorati conducting. 108g, 45rpm cut), The Climactic and orgaistic "Infernal Dance of Kastchei and his court" the Black Bird Never misbehaved once. If it can trackthis 45-RPM cut, it can track anything."
"...The low volume passages eaily get lost in surface noise on most pressings of this performance, But the Blackbird reveals them in pristine silence. Where the BPS and Benz Glider exhibited some surface noise on this cut, the Blackbird revealed a velvety black background from whence the music just emerged. I attribute this mostly to the somewhat diffrent stylus shape used by Sumiko for this cartridge. Basicly its riding in a diffrent part of the groove than the BPS and the Glider, A part not worn by previous plays. Where the BPS is bright and clean the Blackbird is mearly clean. While this presentation might seem somewhat dull to those upgrading from a BPS, One will soon find that this is actually more realistc and much more musical."

Specifications

Cartridge Type	High output MC
Stylus Type	Low mass elliptical
Cantilever	Long grain Boron
Dynamic Compliance	(x10-6 cm/dyne)12
Frequency Response	10Hz-50Khz
Output Voltage/Channel	2.5mV
Internal Impedance	135 Ohms
Channel Separation	35dB @ 1kHz
Channel Balance	0.5dB @ 1kHz
Tracking Force Range	1.8 ­ 2.2 grams
Cartridge Weight	9.6 grams
Mounting System	Standard 0.5” hole spacing

 

 

LYRA Argo The Lyra Argo received third place in the category of cartridges up to a £1000. Hi Fi News said: ‘Last year's winner remains a favourite, an‘affordable' Lyra with stunning weight and drive yet delicacy and finesse.'	LYRA Helicon The Lyra it is an extremely musical performer in the right setup: rich and robust in the midrange without thickness; with extended bass and treble; while at the same time having a very smooth and detailed presentation. The best recordings sound LIVE. There is an immediacy, a palpable presence with this cartridge, that snaps me to attention and makes me catch my breath.
SUMIKO Blackbird "The Blackbird's strongest point were its background quiet and power, extension, and focus of its bass. It threw a big, wide-open soundstage, revealing plenty of low-level detail, and brought forth a shimmering, well-balanced top end with no hint of bright delicacy and palpability, will come only with spending more money. "A strong Class B cartridge," said MF, "a real sweetheart." (Vol.27 No.1) April 2005 Stereophile Stereophile 2004 Analog Source Component Runner-Up (reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.27 No.1, January 2004)	Brinkmann EMT Properly loaded into a first-rate phono stage, the EMT is dynamic, lively, extremely detailed and full-bodied. It is not a warm and beautiful cartridge like a Koetsu. Nor is it analytic and ruthlessly revealing. It makes music in an absolutely convincing and tonally balanced way. Tonally and dynamically, it is an even-handed performer top to bottom: No hype in the presentation anywhere, a model of composure and self-confidence.
SUMIKO BPS Evo III Hi-Fi Choice Best Buy "This is probably one of the most enjoyable cartridges I've tried below £300: pacey and dynamic, crisp and to the point, able to pull musical life from the grooves in toe-tapping fashion. It exudes a no-nonsense kind of sound, playing the notes and hitting the rhythms without unnecessary dressing, soaring through tracks with eager aplomb. From House of Love to Sibelius, it proved an engaging performer.	SUMIKO Celebration Pearwood Michael Fremer had this to say about the Celebration (Sterophile Feb 2001 Vol 24 No 2) "The Celebration was a music-lover's cartridge - for those who value harmonic richness over ultra-low-level detail, transparency, and spatial resolution..." "With its rich harmonic presentation its fine transient response, its robust bass, and its bold imaging it should easily win over many analog lovers.... "