General:

The Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation was the flagship model in the Sumiko Reference Series, renowned for its exceptional musicality, detail retrieval, and craftsmanship. Now discontinued, these cartridges have become increasingly rare—especially in true New Old Stock condition.

This particular example has remained in its original box since new and has never been installed or used. For anyone who admired the Palo Santos years ago but never had the opportunity to own one, this is a rare chance to acquire an exceptional and highly sought-after cartridge. Examples in this condition almost never surface.

Key features include a boron cantilever, line-contact stylus, and high-purity coils. As an added bonus, a custom 3D-printed stylus protector is also included.

More from Sumiko:
For over thirty-five years, SUMIKO has provided a comprehensive range of phono cartridges to music lovers seeking the finest musical experience at a variety of price points. In fact, the great market success of SUMIKO phono cartridges has hinged on their phenomenal cost-to-performance ratio. The Palo Santos Presentation is no exception. New design requirements incorporating advances in material technology and construction techniques have resulted in a significantly improved product which delivers a highly refined and resolved, yet musically satisfying sound quality previously unavailable at or even near its price.

Improvements grace virtually every facet of the product to differentiate it from its smaller sibling the Pearwood Celebration II. Most significant is the new generator anchoring system, which has substantially improved rigidity and reduced resonance and background noise to previously unheard of levels. From the new handcrafted Palo Santos (Brazilian Rosewood) body, which is shorter in height to add vision when mounting and aligning this cartridge, to the Long Grain Boron cantilever and new Line Contact stylus, which significantly improves resolution, the Palo Santos Presentation truly deserves the title as our flagship offering.

SkyFi Cosmetic Notes:
Brand New, Some wear on the outer box.

Brand Background:
For nearly 40 years, SUMIKO has provided the finest array of phono cartridges to discriminating analog enthusiasts around the world. The long list of iconic models produced by SUMIKO reads like a “who’s who” of analog audio’s illustrious past.

Ownership:
Brand New

General Sound:
Smooth, uncolored, undistorted natural and clean

Cosmetic Condition:
New = Factory sealed and unopened. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:
Everything like when it arrived new

Packing:
Original Manufacturers Packing

Original MSRP:
$3,999.00

Specs:
Cartridge Type:
Moving Coil

Suspension:
synthetic rubber

Frequency Response:
10Hz - 40khz (+/- 1.5dB)
Output Voltage/Channel:
0.5mV (3.54cm/s @ 1kHz)

Channel Separation:
\>30dB @ 1kHz

Channel Balance:
<0.5dB @ 1kHz

Optimum Tracking Force:
2.0g

Tracking Force Range:
1.8g - 2.2g

Dynamic Compliance:
8x10-6 cm/dyn

Internal Impedance:
12Ω

Load Impedance:
100Ω - 1kΩ

Capacitance Range:
100pF - 300pF

Cantilever:
long-grain boron

Stylus:
75 x 4 micron ultra low-mass Line-Contact

Output Terminals:
unique gold-plated tapered brass pins

Cartridge Weight:
8.3g

Mounting System:
standard 0.5” hole spacing (M2.5 threaded)

Supplied Hardware:
2x M2.5 (6mm) stainless steel mounting screws
2x M2.5 (8mm) stainless steel mounting screws
4x M2.5 stainless steel washers,
1x 2.0mm allen wrench

Testing Process:
We start by doing a detailed physical inspection under light magnification to asses the cantilever condition, its position in the cartridge body, and the condition of the suspension.

We also inspect any coil wires and the output connections to make sure it hasn't been strained. We then perform a light cleaning with specialized agents and very carefully blow dry with compressed air.

Following that, we conduct a thorough examination using our Wild Heerbrugg professional microscope. From there we can asses the wear and quality of the stylus and determine how much use it has seen, and if there are any mechanical issues. We can also identify if it needs further cleaning or care.

We then move the cartridge to a digital microscope where we take photos of the cantilever and stylus for future reference.

Next we move to the test bench where we can check for continuity of each channel and resistance.

On certain cartridges (or if the technician feels necessary) we install the cartridge on a turntable and run several test records to ascertain tacking ability, distortion, and compliance.

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