A warm, full-bodied entry-level moving magnet that's easy to live with and can be upgraded later just by changing the stylus.
The Rainier is the starting point of Sumiko's Oyster series. Its body and generator are integrated to keep internal resonance down, and it uses a 0.3 × 0.7 mil elliptical diamond on an aluminum-tube cantilever. Output is a generous 5 mV, so it works with virtually any MM phono input, including the ones built into many integrated amplifiers and turntables. The Rainier shares its body with the Olympia, Moonstone and Wellfleet. You can move up to any of their stylus assemblies later without remounting or realigning the cartridge, and Sumiko's RS78 stylus fits it for 78 rpm records.
What Hi-Fi? found it full-bodied and punchy for the money, an entertaining all-rounder that improves as it breaks in. They noted it rewards careful setup and a decent turntable. SoundStage! Access heard it as warm and pleasant across a wide range of recordings, with enough dynamic punch for loud passages, low surface noise and good tracking on warped records. It is a sensible first cartridge or a step up from a basic stock cartridge. It suits medium-mass tonearms and any standard 47 kΩ MM input.
| Type | Moving magnet (MM), user-replaceable stylus |
| Output | 5 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 | 10 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 |
| Frequency response | 15 Hz – 25 kHz |
| Channel separation / balance | 25 dB at 1 kHz / 1.5 dB |
| Stylus upgrades | RS Olympia, RS Moonstone, RS Wellfleet; RS78 for 78 rpm |
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.
