High end cartridge

Pricey but the most revealing pair I’ve heard: Tri Planar + VDH. I listen to trio and quartet jazz.

Mijostyn, while I don't disagree with much of what you said, I was surprised at your attack on the character of Soundsmith.  I have never heard their cartridges, but it only took a few seconds on their web page to find multiple reasons to believe that the 2 cartridges you mention differ by more than a bit of wire.  If you have some inside knowledge that their advertising is false or had a bad experience with them, please let us know.  If you've heard both cartridges, please tell us how they sounded to you.  It's clear you prefer HO cartridges, but singling out Soundsmith on that score seems rather arbitrary.  Our entire hobby often seems to be willing to spend more and more on less and less improvement, but that's not at all the same thing as saying that a specific manufacturer is intentionally ripping people off.

My opinion,
you can’t go wrong with a kiseki Purple Heart. I have one on my VPI prime signature with a 10“ gimbal fat boy tone arm.  Approx $2800

You know what they say about opinions 😂

MM cartridges are:

- provide higher output voltage hence have a better S/N ratio.

- Need less sophisticated and hence cheaper phono amplifiers.

- Styli are user changeable.

- Punchier in the bass frequencies.

Nagaoka MP500 for example is superb...  As well as Ortofon Black and Goldrings.

@petaluman , that was not an attack at all. I asked Peter Ledermann that question directly and that was the answer he gave me. He is doing what any smart business man is going to do. As for the Voice and the Sussurro they are the exact same cartridge with the exception of the coils. Same stylus, same cantilever, same body (different color) and same magnets. One is priced to compete with moving coils, the other with moving magnets. The Voice is still very expensive for a moving magnet cartridge and justifiably so as it out performs them all. I should know. I have one.