Sumiko Starling Moving Coil Phono Cartridge

Recommended Component 2024 – Stereophile

New Reference Open Architecture Design

The Starling is Sumiko's new reference open architecture design featuring a MicroRidge stylus on a boron cantilever in a low output/low mass configuration. This is a powerful, dynamic cartridge with a very refined coherent presentation. The Starling is the latest manifestation of Sumiko’s forty years of refinement of phono cartridge design. It features a new CNC‐precision milled high grade aluminum body with optimized resonance properties.

Starling's open-architecture design builds on the strengths of the Songbird. With the addition of a long-grain boron cantilever and a MicroRidge stylus, the Starling offers significant improvements in resolution and dynamic range over the Songbird.

"Recommended Component" Honors

Stereophile honored the Sumiko Starling by awarding it the magazine's coveted Recommend Component status for 2024.

According to Stereophile, "The Starling's sound was sweet and smooth. 'Less obviously, it showed a quiet, grainless, highly spatial character that made it feel luxurious,' wrote HR, adding that 'in my room, through my system, the Sumiko Starling played my records with a dark, nanodetailed refinement that elucidated whatever sophistications the recordings and the music had to offer.'"

"One of the Best"

Part-Time Audiophile chose the Starling as one of The Best Phono Cartridges, Tonearms and Headshells, Buyers Guide 2022. "The new flagship of Sumiko’s Reference Line, which started with the original Blue Point Special so many years ago, the Starling’s secret is effective damping in the aluminum body. We felt that this Sumiko sounded incredibly neutral throughout the frequency range, with plenty of detail and very impressive and realistic bass."

Building on the Strengths of the Blue Point Special

Both the Starling and the Songbird build upon the strengths of, and lessons learned from, the best-selling high-end cartridge in the world, The Blue Point Special. No aspect of the cartridge's design was left to chance. To avoid unwanted external resonance storage the conventional cartridge body was eliminated. This allowed for the construction of the most efficient path for evacuating internal resonance through the structure of the cartridge directly into the tonearm. This low mechanical impedance mounting system, combined with the optimization of mass, provides the perfect environment for the carefully chosen working elements of the cartridge.

The premium boron cantilever chosen for the Songbird provides excellent energy transfer from the stylus to the coils.