Murasakino “Sumile” - New Cartridge.

[tima]

It was lost in post and came after about 2 months. I think it got damaged in the process because the channel balance was off about 7db. Maybe the coils got out of alignment.

Sorry to hear that. I have had records lost in transit for that long - frustrating. I remember we talked about the Fuuga. Did you not care for its sound or not have it in a condition to judge?

 

[mtemur]

It was lost in post and came after about 2 months. I think it got damaged in the process because the channel balance was off about 7db. Maybe the coils got out of alignment.

if one channel level is 7dB lower than the other one then there is a problem with coils but if there is a 7dB difference between channel separations of left and right then it’s ok. I don’t think anything is wrong with the cartridge as long as lower one is over 20dB.
trying to align azimuth according to channel separation readings whether using AM or Fozgometer may mislead you. simply don’t bother matching those numbers but try to achieve the highest possible separation on both channels. for example 20dB LR and 22dB RL is worse than 25dB LR and 30dB RL.
the problem behind that anomaly is record surface flatness. records are not flat, almost all of them. if you don’t have a vacuum hold down option on your record player it’s almost impossible to achieve a perfect flat record surface and matched channel separation levels.
I measured azimuth on many turntables and the only ones achieve flat record surface are vacuum hold down ones. I even moved the arm and cartridge to a no vacuum turntable but I couldn’t get same matching-azimuth numbers which I get on vacuum turntables. and I tried this on a couple of no vacuum turntables too with no luck. unfortunately I’m using a turntable without a vacuum hold down. I tried some mats and weights but none manage to fix it like vacuum. maybe there is a solution without vacuum but I have not yet encountered it. I tried different test records too. for example on turntables without vacuum different test records give different numbers based on where the azimuth track is located on the record. but you get exactly same numbers on turntables with vacuum.
additionally and more importantly matching channel separation levels on azimuth tracks only align the coils but doesn’t do anything about stylus being perpendicular in the groove which is more important, but that’s another topic.
anyway IMHO it’s hard to say anything about the coils’ alignment if you are not measuring on a turntable with vacuum.

 

[kodomo]

Sorry to hear that. I have had records lost in transit for that long - frustrating. I remember we talked about the Fuuga. Did you not care for its sound or not have it in a condition to judge?

No, I cared for it, it sounds very promising but with advanced stylus profiles I do not like to comment before achieving very good alignment.

if one channel level is 7dB lower than the other one then there is a problem with coils but if there is a 7dB difference between channel separations of left and right then it’s ok. I don’t think anything is wrong with the cartridge as long as lower one is over 20dB.
trying to align azimuth according to channel separation readings whether using AM or Fozgometer may mislead you. simply don’t bother matching those numbers but try to achieve the highest possible separation on both channels. for example 20dB LR and 22dB RL is worse than 25dB LR and 30dB RL.
the problem behind that anomaly is record surface flatness. records are not flat, almost all of them. if you don’t have a vacuum hold down option on your record player it’s almost impossible to achieve a perfect flat record surface and matched channel separation levels.
I measured azimuth on many turntables and the only ones achieve flat record surface are vacuum hold down ones. I even moved the arm and cartridge to a no vacuum turntable but I couldn’t get same matching-azimuth numbers which I get on vacuum turntables. and I tried this on a couple of no vacuum turntables too with no luck. unfortunately I’m using a turntable without a vacuum hold down. I tried some mats and weights but none manage to fix it like vacuum. maybe there is a solution without vacuum but I have not yet encountered it. I tried different test records too. for example on turntables without vacuum different test records give different numbers based on where the azimuth track is located on the record. but you get exactly same numbers on turntables with vacuum.
additionally and more importantly matching channel separation levels on azimuth tracks only align the coils but doesn’t do anything about stylus being perpendicular in the groove which is more important, but that’s another topic.
anyway IMHO it’s hard to say anything about the coils’ alignment if you are not measuring on a turntable with vacuum.

I have two other cartridges here and with the same test record of AM I can have matching channel separation with both. With my Miyajima Madake I can have around 24db and within half of a db but with Fuuga I have like 21db and 28db if I try highest numbers for both L and R channels

 

[tima]

With my Miyajima Madake I can have around 24db and within half of a db but with Fuuga I have like 21db and 28db if I try highest numbers for both L and R channels

I do not recall exact numbers but that overall the Fuuga measured quite well and I had no issues with set-up other than the cantilever being a bit difficult to see. Maybe you try another one some day.

 

[metei]

so, after some teasing around the web i pulled the trigger on a bunch of "new" cartridges that getting a lot of attention and consider top notch and very highly recommended (more to come).
my VDH Colibri strad' is playing for over 50 hours now.. and yesterday the SUMILE arrived from Japan to my door after two week of waiting patiently.
the Sumile comes in a wonderful looking box with all those Japanese aesthetics touch..
i was waiting for my Ikeda 407 CR1 to also for mounting the SUMILE on it, and surpassingly i had them together on the same day.

the Sumile already played for 5-6 hour today- and shown a VERY good prospect to be one of "go to cart" for a full and live dynamic presentation!.
its a BIG wall of sound, with a fast upper mid and full mids with low and punchy bass notes. its not as detail or open as the VDH or flat responding as the Ortofon ANNA... but got a sound signature that hold you down to your chair for hours! (i can see my days lengthen in my music room to the late hours of the night with it).
il wait for some final conclusions after it fully break in, but for now it is very promising!

Hi there everyone,
I did the craziest thing and sent a message to Murasakino on their website contact form and the reply came fast; the compliance for this cartridge is 8. I wanted to share it with all, since this is one of the first pages comes in a search, if anyone needs it in the future.

 

[bonzo75]

Hi there everyone,
I did the craziest thing and sent a message to Murasakino on their website contact form and the reply came fast

Shocking!

 

[montesquieu]

Hi there everyone,
I did the craziest thing and sent a message to Murasakino on their website contact form and the reply came fast; the compliance for this cartridge is 8. I wanted to share it with all, since this is one of the first pages comes in a search, if anyone needs it in the future.

Very useful, the 'equivalent' MySonicLab cartridges are rated as 10, I assume at 100hz in the normal Japanese custom rather than the US/European standard 10hz, so in both cases they are really slighly more compliant than the numbers suggest.

I have the MSL Hyper Eminent and Eminent Solo mono as well as the Sumile. I'm sure the Sumile's lower compliance (among other detail differences in what is clearly a closely-related design) is to allow for the extra weight in the Sumile body (up to 5g for some models) over the MSL bodies. I was using the Sumile for a while on my 12in Glanz tonearm but have since moved it to my 10in Glanz where it feels slightly happier, I also went down from a 14g MSL headshell to 12g OMA graphite. The Ikeda arm (I used to have one) is similarly high mass to the Glanz so there may be benefits from experimenting with different weights of headshell to trim the resonance characteristics.

I'm hoping to get hold of a Sumile Mono at some stage - my next big purchase - so news of receiving a new Sumile is good news, production was suspended earlier in the year due to a fire at a supplier (supplier of what I'm not sure - most likely the body I suspect) so great news that they are available again.

 

[Be Quiet...Listen]

I just had a loan of a Sumile. Very listenable cartridge and enjoyed my time with it, absolutely.
Although, I much prefer my Air Tight PC1 Supreme. Which has me daydreaming about the Opus 1 now...

 

[byrdparis]

still have it on my cart's collection. i thing its the longest cart i hold and didn't sell...
i need to get it to rotation more...