Sumiko Blue Point

[Br1ck]

I have a Sumiko Blue Point that a friend traded me and I remember it sounding pretty good for a week or so until the suspension collapsed. I had several decent MM carts, so it has been in my drawer since. I have since moved into the realm of LOMC carts, a Denon 103r and a Sony XL mc-1. I can trade the body in for a $100 discount on a Blue Point 2 but I wonder if I may have moved beyond the Blue Point with my LOMC carts. It has been a while and all I remember is it sounding very good compared to my AT 440MLa and Shure V15 IV.

Anyone have a recent exposure to a Blue Point?

 

[stopkidding]

I have the blue point special evo3, it sounds good to me. you can trade up the bps for any of their higher spec cartridges. Perhaps a blackbird would be good if you want a big step up? budget permitting.

 

[ChairSpud]

The Sumiko Blue Point was a P-Mount with 1/2" adapter, if that's the one you're talking about it was okay sounding but probably outclassed by every other moving coil cartridge.

Dave/ChairSpud

 

[iLUVanalog]

The Sumiko Blue Point was a P-Mount with 1/2" adapter, if that's the one you're talking about it was okay sounding but probably outclassed by every other moving coil cartridge.

Dave/ChairSpud

Agreed. The Blue Point No. 2 was far superior to the original.

 

[n1gels]

I recently acquired a lovely Thorens TD-166 MkII turntable in pristine condition. It came with an original Blue Point cartridge (a first generation unit). Before committing this stylus to vinyl, I thought I'd check the stylus under the microscope. Here's what I found after I cleaned it. The needle appears to be wrapped in a metal film with very little of the tip protruding. Is this normal? Since the needle isn't removable with this generation of the cartridge and retipping is expensive, it might make more sense to swap the cartridge with something newer. So, I'm looking for advice on which direction to go in, either use this stylus/cartridge or to move on.

 

[Aerobat]

I have an original HOMC BP (it's not a P-mount) and it's a pleasing-sounding cartridge. I thought it was worth re-tipping by VAS and still use it occasionally.

 

[n1gels]

I have an original HOMC BP (it's not a P-mount) and it's a pleasing-sounding cartridge. I thought it was worth re-tipping by VAS and still use it occasionally.

Thanks for the VAS suggestion @Aerobat, I'll contact them and see what it would take to retip.