What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

@lewm , No need to own any of the low output types Lew. Peter admitted to me that he only makes them due to market forces. He feels his high output cartridges are better, which is why I bought the Voice several years back. It is nothing but a high output Sussurro. He does not make a high output Hyperion because people looking for high output cartridges will not spend that much on a cartridge. Why is a Sussurro $2000 more expensive than The Voice? Only, and I mean ONLY because people looking for low output cartridges will pay that much, "because the market allows it," was Peter's direct response. Peter also feels his Strain Gauge is his best cartridge, which is certainly open for argument. I will say that The Voice is a spectacular cartridge for the money. It is balanced, tracks beautifully and is well put together. It is also far less demanding of phono stages and will make a relatively inexpensive stage sound stellar. My old PH3 SE sounded glorious with it.

At any rate I am very convinced Soundsmith cartridges are significantly better than any moving magnet design using similar styluses and cantilevers, and better many than many moving coil cartridges of similar construction. In my experience only when you get to moving coil cartridges in the $10,000 range with similarly priced phonostages are they superseded by a noticeable margin. 

The problem with moving coil cartridges is that it is pitifully easy to make one but very hard to make one at the state of the art. Since they garner a lot of money the profits can be huge, which is why there are so many cottage manufacturers and terrible cartridges.   

.

Although I question the notion that the Sussuro is naught but a low output version of the Voice, and PL probably would too (because Sussuro intro post dates the Voice by several years and because there’s a big price gap between the two populated by several other models) I can see that your preference for the HO cartridges may hold water, given that my very favorite vintage MI cartridges are all HO types. Interesting to note that the recommended load R for Voice is greater than or equal to 47K ohms.

@mijostyn You must have caught Peter L. in his cups to make such damaging admissions!

@dogberry , Peter is a very honest fellow. I asked the question and he answered. I had trouble understanding why he would make such low output cartridges with a design that could easily do higher outputs, increasing dynamic range and signal to noise ration. "Market forces" was his answer. 

@lewm , don't believe me Lew. Check out the construction. Same stylus, same cantilever, same suspension and chassis. The ONLY difference is larger coils.  Peter is a smart businessman. You charge as much as people are willing to pay. Why would you do anything else if you run a business that supports a workforce of people. 

There is also present a Marketing Snobbery, where one has to protect the Old-Guard, by keeping the Riff-Raff out, keeping the product for the ownership of the well-heeled only.

This as a marketing strategy certainly lends itself to being attractive to a certain proportion of clientele, who pay oodles for the tailor-made service.

Seeing as the only places that these Types of Clienteles converge is at commercial ventures, or specially arranged presentations/demonstrations, it is not difficult to keep the clientele separated from the Riff-Raff, which really leaves the exclusivity through pricing as an attraction to a product.

Low Volume Turnover - High Mark Up for a Product that has a mysterious allure, that captures the interest, will be an ideal USP to win over a certain type of customer.

Imagine the little extras like having a one-to-one dialogue with a proprietor of an establishment, it can't get more intimate as an experience than that, and surely worth investing in.