Soundsmith Sotto Voce Moving Iron Cartridge
Soundsmith Sotto Voce Moving Iron Cartridge
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Soundsmith Sotto Voce
Each one handcrafted by Peter Ledermann - Made in the USA. Rebuild Price? $450 - Less than 20% of MSRP ! ~ Sotto Voce features a 2 year warranty to the original owner.
The Soundsmith Sotto Voce is a medium-output version of the incredible "The Voice" cartridge; perfect for preamps that have around 50dB or so of fixed gain, so you don't have to worry about overloading your phonostage with a moving magnet, or having to turn up the volume and deal with increased noise from a low-output moving coil.
It overturns the myth that moving coil cartridges are the only path towards perfection. After all, what is the “advantage” of the moving coil type of cartridge? Low effective moving mass, right? We got less. Much less. And if you understand moving mass, Less IS more.
The 40-year evolution of “The Voice” cartridge (on which the Sotto Voce is based) affords lower effective moving mass than any of them. Far lower. It even has 40% less than our other moving iron designs! Why is that good? Because when you lower the moving mass, it’s easier to control. If it’s easier to control, the stylus can stay in better contact with the groove walls. That’s good, because if you can’t stay in contact with the groove walls, you can’t hear what’s on the record.
Once you’ve heard Sotto Voce, you’ll never go back. The price?? Oh yes, “less is more” applies here too...
Specifications
Type: | Fixed Coil / Moving Iron |
Mount: | Standard ½” |
Stylus: | Contact Line, Nude, 0.10 mm square Selected |
Radius of Curvature: | Optimized Contour Contact Line |
Cantilever: | Ruby |
Recommended Tracking Force: | 1.3 - 1.6 g Standard (Medium Compliance) 1.0 - 1.2 g (Special Order High Compliance) |
Effective Tip Mass: | 0.30 mg |
Compliance: | 22 µm/mN (Medium Compliance) 28 µm/mN (High Compliance) |
Frequence Response: | 20 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.0 dB |
Channel Separation @ 1000 Hz: |
> 30 dB |
Channel Separation @ 50 - 15,000 Hz: |
> 20 dB |
Channel Difference: | < 0.5 dB |
Output Voltage @ 5cm/sec: |
> 1.10 mV (MEDIUM) |
DC Resistance (DCR): | 110Ω |
Coil Inductance per channel: | 30 mH |
Suggested Preamp Gain: | 48 - 54 dB |
Cartridge Weight: | 6.80 g |
Recommended Load Resistance: | ≥ 1.5 kΩ |
Recommended Load Capacitance: | n/a |