Celebrating 40 Years of Analog Excellence
The original Celebration phono cartridge was designed by Sumiko as a "celebration of music." The design saw enhancements over the years, but today Sumiko has something a little more specific to celebrate.
Commemorating its 40th anniversary of excellence in analog, Sumiko is enormously excited to introduce the latest refinement of its award-winning Pearwood Celebration II – the new Celebration 40! Sumiko has continued to implement the tried and true design elements lending to maximum rigidity and minimal unwanted resonance: a long-grain boron cantilever, milled Teflon back-plate and the same MC generator securely fixed to an anti-resonant machined aluminum cradle. However, what Sumiko is bringing to the table amounts to radically improved sonics.
Celebration 40 now implements the same solid, ultra-low-mass 75µm x 2.5µm Microridge stylus as its flagship Palo Santos Presentation. Adding the Microridge stylus is revelatory when it comes to micro detail and spatiality. Like its predecessor, Celebration 40 is free of fatigue, and you can immerse yourself in listening as hours breeze by.
Prevailing characteristics are rich, smooth, and warm, lacking analytical tendencies that can become grating on the ear. Clarity, however, is not sacrificed for this tonal character. The Microridge tracks like few others are capable. It holds the groove unyieldingly, and tracking is thus impeccable, portraying music in a manner that's entirely unconfused. Musicality, emotion, bass depth, and slam with mid/high sweetness are what you're in for.
Gorgeous Plumwood Body
Sumiko selected the gorgeous plumwood body for its remarkable resonance characteristics. Like pearwood, it's a blossoming tree that Sumiko found more accurately embodies the spirit of the Celebration design. It lends a sense of euphoria that invites you in, reminiscent of the charm evoked by vintage tube audio. To ensure accuracy in the cartridge alignment procedure, Sumiko modified the front face of the plumwood housing, clearing the sightline so you can view the entire cantilever in setup.
Preamplifying and loading Celebration 40 is all but identical to Celebration II. To get the absolute most from your cartridge, operate within the specified VTF and loading ranges but experiment with those. You have a degree of control over how Celebration 40 sounds in your system (like any audiophile cartridge), and Sumiko wants you to find your own sweet spot. Whatever that sweet spot may be, Celebration 40 has something ear-opening to offer any listener. And this new refinement of the Pearwood Celebration II doesn't cost a penny more.
