favorite phono cartridge

Lewm, at present I own the ortofon anna only. I have owned about 15 different cartridges. Many I was happy to get rid of. Some made me nervous(atlas, gold finger, XV1-s). Others just time for a change(moving target). All part of the experimate. If there can only be one, at present I would stand by my listed order. Although, I would probably stick with anna. As I said, the atlas makes me nervous.

Shure V15 type IV with Ed Saunders stylus.

Different cartridges for different tonearms thats for sure. On the other hand it's a lot of fun to try many good once and thats a part of the hobby. How do we know the one we like is the best without trying some others? Upgrade is endless process. I like new ZYX PREMIUM 4D copper with SB2. But some vintage cartridges are so attractive...

Each and every cartridge has its own merits and creators ideas and taste about the music. Imho, dynavector, lyra is in a another taste, benz, koetsu ikeda is another taste. Any one may like any of it, also in different systems, you may hate any of it. If the cartridge and the system favor each other strenghts and weakness, that cartridge would be the ones best cartridge. Zyx is not color free cartridge, but again imho, it is as close as the neutral cartridge. Thats whay I think it is a very good candidate for the best cartridge. Also i have many cartridges, and i do not have any zyx right now.

But analog has too much varaibles, even a damping oil may create a huge difference, so best is very dependent on system, more then personel taste. What a hard question to answer :))

I do not own one. But If I were to chose then a Van Den Hul the Crimson would be a contender. Or a Clearaudio Gold finger. Both well out of my budget.