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SoundSmith The Voice
The Voice
New ES Series DEMS design
Each one hand crafted by Peter Ledermann - Made in the USA. Rebuild Price? $450 - Less than 20% of MSRP !
The Voice features a 2 year warranty to the original owner.
A cartridge that disappears. After all, if it sounds like a "record" it's wrong. The cartridge should bring your directly to the performance; not stand between you and the music.
Since its introduction in 2009, The Voice has won numerous "product-of-the-year" awards and is – in Peter Ledermann's words –"probably the best High Output cartridge in production today." Our design goal was to produce the lowest moving mass high output design possible using novel and advanced technology. Featuring a single crystal Ruby Cantilever and our Optimized Contour Line Contact Stylus, we developed a specialized metallurgy for the low mass moving iron system.
The Voice also has a v-shaped extension over the cantilever and stylus that makes it tough to damage. Having knocked off the cantilever of my previous cartridge twice because it protruded well beyond the front, that's a big deal.
Dynamics, imaging and scale are all important, but transparency is my personal holy grail and that is one of many places where The Voice shines.
The Voice will wring every last drop of performance from it at a price that, in a world where most competitors go for two, three and four grand (up to ten large), is extremely reasonable and probably a great bargain. It is easily a reference quality cartridge with the added edge of being supremely musical.
Kudos, accolades and many "Product of the Year" awards. The pinnacle of High Output designs – from Soundsmith – of course.
Also available in dual-coil mono ($300 additional).
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Professional Reviews 91/100
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
96/100
Build Quality
75/100
Features Usability
89/100
Value for Money
85/100
SoundSmith The Voice brings an effortless, black-background presentation to vinyl, pairing authoritative vocal presence with deep, quick bass and a three-dimensional soundstage. Dagogo found its moving-iron design exceptionally quiet and articulate, with superb inner-groove composure and vivid retrieval of musical nuance. A compelling high-end choice for listeners who value natural immediacy over clinical analysis.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Exceptionally quiet, articulate tracking, including difficult inner-groove passages.
Deep, fast, well-controlled bass with strong attack and no perceived bloat.
Wide, deep and coherent three-dimensional soundstage with vivid vocal detail.
&
Cons
Achieving its best performance may require careful capacitive loading and setup matching.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 96/100
The review describes an unusually effortless, immediate and transparent presentation, combining bold scale with a quiet, black backdrop. It also praises the cartridge's deep, quick bass, balanced tonal character and convincingly three-dimensional presentation.
Overall Sound
96/100
The Voice is described as bold, vibrant and large in scale, yet neither overly warm nor cold through the midrange and treble. The reviewer heard authoritative, immediate vocals, deep and controlled bass, and a presentation that could be smooth or explosively dynamic as the recording demanded.
Tracking Retrieval
97/100
The reviewer calls The Voice among the quietest and most articulate cartridges heard, with no apparent exaggeration of surface noise. Its handling of difficult inner-groove cuts was singled out as better than the reviewer had previously heard, while low-level vocal and crowd details remained easy to follow.
Soundstage Imaging
96/100
The soundstage was described as exemplary: wide and deep without losing the cohesion of the whole performance. The review also highlights a coherent, truly three-dimensional soundfield and a notably alive, immediate sense of presence.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 89/100
The standard half-inch mount, 2.12mV output and recommended 38-44dB gain make The Voice more straightforward to accommodate than many low-output moving-coil designs. Its medium-compliance version should suit a broad selection of appropriately matched tonearms, although careful setup remains important for realizing its tracking ability.
Tonearm Compatibility
89/100
The standard mount, medium-compliance option and conventional 47k-ohm loading recommendation support relatively broad system compatibility. Its 9.2g body and 1.3-1.6g tracking-force range still call for sensible arm matching and precise alignment, while the higher-compliance version is a more specialized option.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
75/100
The supplied specifications list a nude contact-line stylus and ruby cantilever, but the review does not directly assess fit, finish, assembly quality or long-term durability. There is therefore little listener-facing evidence on construction beyond the stated design.
Value for Money
85/100
At $2,999.95, The Voice occupies a premium cartridge segment. The review is exceptionally enthusiastic about its performance, including calling it the best non-moving-coil cartridge the reviewer has heard, but it does not directly compare its asking price with competing models or make a clear value judgment.
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- Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Alternative Audio — in-store — Taunton, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Ana Mighty Sound — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
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- Audio & Video Expressions — in-store — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States (website)
- Audio Advice — online and in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
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- Audio Element — in-store — Pasadena, California, United States (website)
- Audio Influence — online and in-store — Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia (website)
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