Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

While most distributors are just that – importers of equipment – Sumiko began life as much a manufacturer as it did an importer, and rooted in the vinyl world of cartridges and tonearms. Fifty years ago, the MC revival had yet to spread outside of Japan until legendary designer and Sumiko co-founder Dave Fletcher brought Grace tonearms and Supex cartridges to the USA in the 1970s. The hi-fi jungle drums tell of Dave opening the eyes of Linn's founder, Ivor Tiefenbrun, to the Grace/Supex combination.

They partnered the inaugural Linn LP12 turntable, until the Ittok and Asak kicked them from the nest. Over the decades Sumiko gave us the MDC-800 (known as 'The Arm'), the Talisman MCs and Premier tonearms, evolving into one of the USA's top suppliers of high-end hardware. Dave, who passed in 2021 aged 81, had long since sold his shares before, decades later, Sumiko joined the Fine Sounds Group alongside Sonus faber and McIntosh. Thankfully this success in distribution has not come at the expense of its own design innovation or build quality as the 75x2.5µm micro-ridge diamond, 0.28mm-diameter boron cantilever and X-shaped 'moving coils' serve to illustrate. PM