We have created Songbird High to make genuine moving coil refinement available to listeners with MM phono stages. It benefits from our famous open-architecture design that prevents intrusive resonance from coloring and distorting sound. It is clear but not forward, approaching music with tonal balance and cohesive, intelligent soundstaging. Highs are sweet and extended, mids are rich and clear. Bass is full, textured and deep-reaching. There is an understated elegance in its ability to effortlessly portray the whole sonic picture — nothing overdone, nothing underdone. Free of fatiguing distractions, it draws you deeply into the soundstage wherein you can enjoy the most intimate nuances of your favorite recordings. Images are confidently suspended and rife with dynamic allure, always encouraging you keep on listening.

“The Songbird, with its sweet tone and subtle textures, is cut from the same sonic cloth as its Reference series sibling, the Starling” —Stereophile Recommended Component

“If you want to try a high output moving coil cartridge that’s well-built, reasonably priced does everything well, and resolves sufficient detail to make you sit up and take notice… Sumiko’s new Songbird is a well-voiced, high performance choice I don’t think you’ll regret making.” —Analog Planet

Our Reference Series Open-Body MCs

Our Reference Series open-architecture cartridges minimize the potential for coloration and distortion due to energy buildup that is sometimes propagated by the conventional cartridge body. Internal resonance is damped within the generator while remaining resonance travels up through the bonded mounting plate & headblock, then down the tonearm where it is dissipated harmlessly. The PEEK generator mounting plate provides the utmost stability and energy transfer while the stiff alloy headblock is the conduit through which that energy exits the cartridge. The generator itself minimizes distortion and losses through the implementation of pure metals and intelligent orientation of the same. The performance of this sophisticated generator is bolstered by our multi-faceted approach to resonance control, precipitating to clean, musical, and highly listenable sonics.

Trade In or Trade Up

As user-replaceable styli are not on an option for MC phono cartridges, remember that any of our MCs, functional or otherwise, can be returned to your dealer in a re-tip exchange — a discount on a new cartridge of equal or greater value — sparing you expense when your stylus heads south. *Note: The trade-in program is valid for US customers only.

Hand-Crafted in Japan

Each Sumiko phono cartridge is hand-assembled by the world-class cartridge makers at Excel Sound in Yokohama, Japan – a relationship we’ve proudly maintained for nearly forty years. We use only the finest materials that combine to deliver performance that has enlightened generations of listeners. Each design is thoroughly auditioned until it meets our stringent standards for sound. Production is then executed by expert craftsmen with a collective eye for precision & quality. The result is a family of cartridges that render emotion through tonally balanced, refined and fatigueless analog reproduction.