A smooth, musical moving magnet that steps up from the Rainier with a lighter cantilever, more extension and a surprisingly big soundstage.
The Olympia is the second model in Sumiko's Oyster series. It uses the same body and generator as the Rainier and Moonstone, with an upgraded stylus assembly: a finely polished 0.3 × 0.7 mil elliptical diamond on a reduced-mass aluminum cantilever, paired with a smaller magnet. Lower moving mass lets the stylus trace the groove more accurately, which shows up as more detail and better frequency extension. Output is a healthy 4 mV. The stylus is user-replaceable, so you can restore it, or move up to the Moonstone stylus later, without remounting the cartridge.
Positive Feedback found the Olympia smooth and musical, if a little lean, with well-extended highs, punchy and controlled bass, and a large, three-dimensional soundstage for the price. It comes close to the Moonstone, giving up a little fine detail and extension. That makes it a strong first cartridge for someone new to vinyl, or a reliable backup for a more experienced listener. It suits medium-mass tonearms and any standard 47 kΩ MM phono input.
| Type | Moving magnet (MM), user-replaceable stylus |
| Output | 4 mV |
| Internal impedance / inductance | 1,130 Ω / 450 mH |
| Recommended load | 47 kΩ, 100–200 pF |
| Tracking force | 1.8–2.2 g (2.0 g recommended) |
| Compliance | 12 µm/mN (dynamic, lateral) |
| Tracking ability | 60 µm at 315 Hz |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Stylus | Elliptical diamond, 0.3 × 0.7 mil |
| Cantilever | Aluminum tube, reduced mass |
| Frequency response | 12 Hz – 30 kHz |
| Channel separation / balance | 30 dB at 1 kHz / 1.5 dB |
| Shares body with | Rainier, Moonstone, Wellfleet (styli interchangeable) |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Sumiko dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
