Soundsmith Moving Iron Cartridges

Soundsmith has been producing a range of moving iron cartridges for a number of years. Each model has an ebony body - the model range progresses through higher quality styli and cantilever materials. There is a choice of high or medium compliance to ensure tone arm compatibility. All models can be ordered as dual coil mono versions.

Click the cartridge name to go to specifications and prices.

The Voice
Aida
Boheme
Carmen
Otello

Link to page for information about Soundsmith's innovative Strain Gauge cartridges.
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The Sussurro

Soundsmith’s unique moving iron architecture has lower effective moving mass than a moving coil cartridge which provides better tracking ability and dynamics. The Sussurro is designed as a direct replacement for low output moving coil cartridges. It has low compliance/low output to match arms designed for moving coils cartridges. Sussurro features the same stylus and cantilever as Soundsmith’s innovaive Strain Gauge cartridge design and offers many of the virtues of that product - channel separation, precise imaging and excellent nuance and detail retrieval.
Read a review at Dagogo.

  • Single Crystal Ruby Cantilever
  • Selected “Optimized Contour” nude Contact Line diamond stylus
  • Recommended racking force: 1.8 - 2.2 grams
  • Channel separation > 34dB
  • Compliance = 10 cu
  • Body Weight = 8.79 Grams
  • Output - 0.3 mV
  • Recommended loading: > 500 Ohm
  • Virtually hum-free operation due to six sided magnetic shielding
SRP £3999
Soundsmith The Voice cartridge

The Voice

Stereophile Class A rated, The Voice represents the designer’s ultimate signature version of his high output moving iron design. Careful attention to detail in design and laboriously exacting production techniques further improve the measured performance in channel separation and channel balance, for superior imaging.
Read Dagogo's review here.
 Read Stereomojo's reveiew here.

Specification

Stylus: contact line nude, 0.1 mm SQ
Radius of curvature: optimsed contact line
Cantilever: ruby
Recommended tracking force: 1.0 gm (high); 1.3 gm (medium)
Effective tip mass: 0.3 mg
Compliance: 28 cu (high); 22 cu (medium)
Freq response: 20-20,000 Hz ±1.0 dB
Channel separation: >30 dB at 1kHz; 50-15,000 Hz > 25 dB
Channel matching: 0.5 dB
Output voltage: > 0.6 mV/cm/sec; 5 cm/sec lat RMS > 2.12 mV
Cartridge mass: 6.8 gm
Loading: impedance >/= 47 Kohms; capacitance >/= 400 pF
SRP £1996
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Aida


Stereophile Class A rated, The Aida is upgraded with an optimized contour contact line stylus that provides the ultimate in trackability and detail retrieval, yielding extra nuance with better separation and image resolution.

Specification

Optimised line contact, with ruby cantilever.
Recommended tracking force: 1 gm (high); 1.4 gm (medium)
Effective tip mass: 0.32 mg
Compliance: 28 cu (high); 22 cu (medium)
Separation better than 30 dB
Channel difference < 1 dB
SRP £989
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Boheme

Boheme sees an upgraded from Carmen to a ruby cantilever with a contact line stylus. This lowers the moving mass of the stylus and cantilever significantly and increases detail retrieval. The cartridge adds both extra responsiveness and agility and presents music with more insight bringing performers into sharper focus. This cartridge is neutral and full-bodied whilst being highly engaging.Contact line stylus with ruby cantilever

Specification

Recommended tracking force: 1 gm (high); 1.4 gm (medium)
Effective tip mass: 0.32 mg
Compliance: 28 cu (high); 22 cu (medium)
Separation better than 28 dB
Channel difference: < 1 dB
SRP £731
Soundsmith Carmen cartridge

Carmen

Moving up from the Otello, listeners are rewarded by better than expected detail retrieval, tight and articulate bass and the Soundsmith characteristic of stable and resolved imaging. Orchestral strings are natural, horn sections have authentic bite and the cartridge presents vocals with clarity.
Elliptical nude stylus, 0.12 mm SQ with aluminium cantilever tube
Recommended tracking force: 1.2 gm
Effective tip mass: 0.35 mg
Compliance: 22 cu
Frequency response: 20-20000 Hz ± 2.5 dB
Channel separation: > 24 dB
Channel difference: < 1.8 dB
SRP £513
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Otello

Otello is the entry point to the advantages of Soundsmith's moving iron architecture. Compared to competitors at the same price, it is less coloured, tracks better and provides more detail.
Elliptical diamond stylus bonded to titanium cantilever
Recommended tracking force: 1.2 g
Effective tip mass: 0.5 mg
Compliance: 22 cu
Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz ± 2.5 dB
Separation: > 22 dB
Difference < 2 dB
SRP £362