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Wellfleet Phono Cartridge
Next-Gen Moving Magnet Phono Pickup
Sumiko Phono Cartridges is pleased to premiere Wellfleet, the newest addition to the Rainier collection. The brand has applied and upgraded its award-winning design of the Moonstone cartridge, retuning the suspension for optimal performance of a nude elliptical diamond with the existing generator and resonance-optimized housing found in the rest of the Rainier series.
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Wellfleet utilizes a highly polished nude elliptical stylus, eliminating the bonding between the stylus tip and shank. With the new assembly, excessive mass in the shank is cut away to further reduce tip mass, resulting in a faster, more direct, and more accurate response of the stylus’ movement by the cantilever and magnet. Sonically, this increases speed and focuses central images, pulling them toward the listener with a heightened sense of detail.
Hand-Crafted in Japan
With the Wellfleet, vocals are immediate, clear, and detailed, and the warmth of human vocal work becomes more apparent with hints of rasp and emphasized subtleties, boosted by tight and well-controlled bass. The listener is able to identify distinct instrumentation such as the rattle of snare wires, or the woody twang of vintage acoustic guitars. Listeners will hear an improvement in surface noise and sense a more distanced backdrop, facilitating a deeply suspended image.
Thomas S.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2025
Nice upgrade from Rainer.
Mark H
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2024
This is a great stylus. Swapping out the Rainier and putting in the Wellfleet was pretty easy, all-in-all. The audio reproduction was a little disappointing initially as I sort of forgot how important proper cartridge alignment was (I had to move the cartridge from my old turntable to my new one), so I wasn't getting the best quality sound. After researching how to properly align a cartridge and finally managing to do it there was a very noticeable improvement in sound quality over the Rainier stylus, but it still wasn't wasn't what I expected from a $400 stylus. I figured, "what the heck" and left it on but after breaking in the stylus finally I have to say the Sumiko Wellfleet is a superb stylus. I'm not good with the audiophile jargon so I'm not going to comment on the "highs" or the treble, but I can say with certainty that it sounds flippin' great after setting it up correctly and breaking it in.
Hawk
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2024
Not as good of a deal as the Moonstone, but about 50% better for 3x the cash. Get it if you want that next step and don't mind paying for it.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024
The new turntable I purchased came with the Sumiko Ranier (base cartridge), the Wellfleet is the highest performing "oyster" cartridge that will fit the Ranier cartridge shell.Gorgeous detail, super revealing. This nude elliptical stylus uncovers so much more than my old Rega Elys 2.Sumiko's next step up is the Amethyst and you will need to buy the complete cart/shell & that is their flagship for moving magnet. I am going moving coil in the future and the Wellfleet was the perfect compromise.
Caped Crusader
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023
I love how easy it was to upgrade the Rainier stylus. Pull out the stylus and push in the new one. No fiddling. Not tricky. And it sounds beautiful. I am already doing a double-take as I hear instrument details I never heard before.
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