Goatwuss, I generally don't like to speak ill of people or companies (points of view are fair game!) . . . but after my diatribe above, maybe I could stand to be specific. Please understand that most of my experience is from 10-15 years ago, when part of my living was made by selling cartridges and setting up turntables. In the past decade, I probably set up two or three a year . . . as a favor to friends, and they select the cartridge themselves.
'Back in the day', I generally liked to sell and set up Ortofons, with the exception of their bottom-of-the-line or DJ offerings. While the tonal balance isn't necessarily to everybody's taste (and not always completely to mine), Ortofon consistently had above-average manufacturing consistency, a very complete range of offerings, and good, complete, accurate technical information. I also had an Ortofon TC3000 cartridge analyzer with about 100 of the matching test records - in addition to a couple of other testing methodologies. This allowed me to make sure that the measured data fit what the cartridge specs indicated it should do. Back then, the profit margins for most cartridges, including Ortofon, were very high . . . meaning that I could afford to swap out a defect even if I wasn't sure the distributor wouldn't back me up.
Ortofon has now changed ownership, but they still seem to be a very solid company, and if you want an MC with good tracking ability, then it's hard to go wrong with their modern-style offerings with a nude fine-line or better stylus - the Kontrapunkt series and Jubilee deliver in spades. The older, more modest range like the MC20FL were also good, but I haven't any experience with the Rondos and such. And while I've used the SPU series as an example of poor tracking performance, I don't think it's a bad product . . . just one for very specialized tastes and applications.
I've set up two Lyra Helikons, neither had defects. Not quite as precise as the high-end Ortofons in the tracking department, but still very good. I've liked the Linn cartridges, too . . . they seem a bit overpriced but if you have a Linn tonearm, they're a guaranteed perfect match, and that's worth something. I would describe my Klyde's tracking performance as "better than what's necessary, but not by a whole lot."
I have mixed feelings on Benz -- they seem to be very finely crafted cartridges and have a nice tone . . . but the handful I've set up didn't seem to work quite 'right'. I remember two with questionable workmanship/condition on the stylus, and in both cases, the owners wanted them mounted anyway . . . but both were changing cartridges within six months. Benz' choice of output level and impedance also leaves me scratching my head . . . it's as if they don't care about making the cartridge-to-preamp interaction at all predictable.
The AT-OC9 has a good reputation, and that's probably generally true. I did have an incident many years ago where the distributor agreed before I bought it that I could send it back if it didn't pass my inspection, and then the cartridge I got was horrible -- a badly mis-mounted diamond, with a twisted cantilever. I sent it back, and they proceeded to send me the exact same cartridge again in a different box. I sent it back too, and the third one was gorgeous . . . tracked well and sounded beautiful. The distributor probably just thought I was being an ass . . . and he probably wasn't completely wrong.
I don't like Grados. Consistent maybe, but consistently hummy and noisy and poor tracking. The big disappointment was Shure - they had some nice designs with horrible manufacturing. I had customers waiting months before I could get a useable V-15-V - and I frequently had to raid the replacement stylii to put on a brand-new cartridge. This is in such marked contrast to their professional microphones and other products . . . I really hope they've improved since I sold them.
But the very best (that I alluded to earlier), in terms of consistent high quality diamonds perfectly mounted . . . was Bang & Olufsen. I've seen at least a hundered under the microscope, and their workmanship even on the cheaper cartridges was spot-on, every time. Some of the cartridges from the 1970s (i.e. MMC4000, MMC6000) have problems with dried-out suspension . . . I always thought the MMC3 was a weak point in their line . . . and they did have a problem with open connections at the very end (early-1990s). I'm not saying that B&O tables and cartridges are the absolutely last word in performance . . . but they make good on what they promise, and for the setup-averse vinyl newbie, there's no better. The Soundsmith cartridges are also excellent, and a worthy successor to the B&O tradition.
You have to respect the Danes . . . a very small country with an amazing legacy in audio manufacturing.
