Price: $1899

Website: www.sumikoaudio.net

Jason said: The Reference Starling slapped me in the face. While I know that Sumiko has been in the cartridge business forever, and obviously should know by now how to make a good cartridge, I hadn’t expected this level of performance for a (pretty much) affordable price.

Reviewers' Choice

Read the SoundStage! Ultra review.

The gist: If you’re in the budget cartridge market, Jason thinks you should spend a bit more and get this.