Головки звукоснимателя — Sumiko Blue Point No. 3 High

The Blue Point No. 3 High is the high-output version of the third-generation Blue Point moving-coil cartridge from Sumiko. It is hand-assembled by the cartridge makers at Excel Sound in Yokohama, Japan, and its 2.5 mV output lets it connect straight to a moving-magnet phono input instead of a dedicated MC preamp. A version with lower output was released at the same time as a separate model. The High is listed at USD 599.

Key specs that matter

Wound for this model, the coils are made of high-purity copper, and the stylus is a 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical diamond fitted to an aluminium pipe cantilever with a diameter of 0.5 mm. Rated output is 2.5 mV at 1 kHz, internal impedance is 135 ohm and the recommended load is 47 kohm. Frequency response runs from 13 Hz to 30 kHz. Channel separation is 30 dB and channel balance is within 1 dB, both measured at 1 kHz. Dynamic compliance is 12 x 10-6 cm/dyn at 100 Hz, and the cartridge weighs 6.1 g.

Engineering and use context

Compared with the earlier Blue Point, the housing was redesigned to remove resonant cavities inside the body, a change Sumiko credits for lowering unwanted energy around the generator. Threaded inserts are built into the top of the body, so the mounting screws go in from above without separate nuts, which makes alignment in the headshell quicker. The tracking force range is 1.8 g to 2.2 g with 2.0 g as the recommended setting, while Sumiko gives 20 degrees for the vertical tracking angle. Sumiko does not offer a user-replaceable stylus for this model; worn units are handled through a re-tip exchange programme, so the owner returns the cartridge instead of swapping a stylus assembly. Because the body is compact and light, it suits most standard headshells without extra weights.

Pairing

A moderate compliance and a body weight near 6 g point to medium-mass tonearms, which covers the arms fitted to most belt-drive turntables in this price range. The recommended capacitance is 100 pF to 200 pF, so the combined value of the tonearm wiring and interconnect should stay within that window when it is fed into a standard MM stage. Owners who already have an MC stage can still use it, but gain should be set at the MM level to avoid overload.

Alternatives

The Sumiko Blue Point Number 3 Low is the low-output sibling in the same series, meant to be used with an amplifier that offers a proper moving-coil input.