Kiseki Purpleheart

I've used the Kiseki Blue on my VPI. Nice cart. Questionable durability though- I went through 2 of them. 1st one the stylus fell off. 2nd -left channel problem not covered by warranty.

SS Voice ES is worth investigation. I used the entry level Otello  for a short while, and was surprised with its pleasant sound.
Presently using an Audio Technica ART9, which I used before with good results..

I have the Kiseki Blue NS, it's my best cartridge.  Great tracking, no noticeable distortion, solid bass, clear but not "bright" treble. 

Disturbing to hear about those quality issues.  I've had mine since March with no issues. 

I owned a Kiseki Purpleheart, it's a great cartridge.  I agree with Big_greg that is tracks well has solid bass and not bright in highs.
You ask about alternatives, two others are MuTech Hayabusa and Air Tight PC7.  The MuTech is $4500.00 retail but I recently sold one for less than $3K.
The Air Tight PC7 is only $2500.00 retail and excellent.  

I have the VPI Prime and have used both a regular Soundsmith Zephyr And SS Zephyr MIMC Star, both track and sound great in my system. For a while you could get great deals on both before the latest models came out. Not sure if still the case. I think the regular Zephyr was made for unipivot arms. The SS website worth reading if considering these. I had both retipped by SS before the warranty ran out. Had no problems at all before or after retip. Just wanted to extend life and have one as a backup without buying completely new carts. Hope this helps. 

"Disturbing to hear about those quality issues."

big_greg-

I typically have good luck with gear. Likely, no real concern in your case.
The KB does have subtle refinement compared the the ART9 overall-particularly the mids/highs.  It should, being 2X the cost!

I've heard the KPH in a few systems. Very nice.