The Introduction of the Product Expands the Brand’s Award-Winning Reflection of the Rainier Collection MAPLE GROVE, MN (February 14, 2022) – Sumiko Phono Cartridges is pleased to premiere Wellfleet, the newest addition to the Rainier collection. The brand has applied and upgraded its award-winning design of the Moonstone cartridge, retuning the suspension for optimal performance of a nude elliptical diamond with the existing generator and resonance-optimized housing found in the rest of the Rainier series.
Wellfleet utilizes a highly polished nude elliptical stylus, eliminating the bonding between the stylus tip and shank. With the new assembly, excessive mass in the shank is cut away to further reduce tip mass, resulting in a faster, more direct, and more accurate response of the stylus’ movement by the cantilever and magnet. Sonically, this increases the process speed and focuses central images, pulling them toward the listener with a heightened sense for detail.
With the Wellfleet, vocals are immediate, clear, and detailed, the warmth of human vocal work becomes more apparent with hints of rasp and emphasized subtleties, boosted by tight and well controlled bass. Backing vocals become easier to discern, and the listener is able to identify distinct instrumentation such as the rattle of snare
wires, or the woody twang of a vintage acoustic guitars. Listeners will hear an improvement in surface noise and sense a more distanced backdrop, facilitating a deeply suspended image.
Flexibility remains paramount for the brand’s offerings – with (5) current stylus assembly variations currently available, capable of utilizing this generator. Rainier owners can upgrade to Olympia, Moonstone and now Wellfleet with a simple stylus swap. The Wellfleet will retail for $449 USD through Authorized Sumiko Dealers beginning February 2022.
ABOUT SUMIKO PHONO CARTRIDGES
Since the production of the first Sumiko cartridge in 1982, Sumiko has been focused on creating phono cartridges that combine state of the art technical performance with the practical requirements of superb tracking and a musical, non-fatiguing, sonic presentation. From the accessible Oyster Moving Magnet models to the Low Output Moving Coil Reference cartridge designs, all Sumiko Cartridges are hand-built in Japan by skilled artisans to excel at the reproduction of analog music. Learn more at sumikophonocartridges.com
