- `[2026-07-09]` **HF whisper datasets aren't actually whispered.** Claris-Whispered-English measures voiced 0.8
  (not a whisper) + IPA transcripts; `datasets` audio decode needs torchcodec (wants CUDA-13, incompatible w/ the
  cu124 venv). LPC DSP-whisperize went unstable (NaN). **kokoro `af_nicole` IS a genuine whisper** (voiced 0.24) —
  that (operator's pointer) is the working whisper reference source, not TTS-voice screening or dataset-hunting.