Moving coil VS moving magnet/iron

Here we go with stylus "jitter" again.

chakster, these lectures are a great example of how you can bend data to support pretty much anything. Peter also conveniently forgets to mention that a mass at the fulcrum has significantly less effect than a mass at the very end of the lever. Thus the important spec to consider is the moving system's effective mass which include the stylus and cantilever in the mix and do not forget that the length of the cantilever is also a critical aspect of the cartridges mechanical behavior. He intentionally picks the worst example of a moving coil cartridge (picture included) to compare his design. There are many MC cartridges with resonance frequencies above 60 kHz. I also find it very interesting that he did not mention Joseph Grado who invented the stereo moving coil cartridge then switched to moving iron because he also thought it better. 
Peter's theory is that lower mass at the fulcrum leads to less stylus "jitter" which leads to less "noise." If he really wanted to impress me he would have digital samples of two identical turntables calibrated to the exact same output level one with his best cartridge and another with an Ortofon Anna Diamond playing the same blank groove. Would his cartridge produce less "noise?" I don't know. Neither does he or if he does he is not telling us or rather showing us. So, it all becomes just a marketing theory.
All this has nothing to do actually with how a cartridge sounds. This is a subjective judgement we all have to make for ourselves. It does seem most of us prefer moving coil cartridges. I had a Grado Statement and it was a wonderful sounding and tracking cartridge. It's only failing was that any electric field near it created noise. My understanding is that Soundsmith cartridges do not do this. I have not owned one so I can not say. The people who own them love them but it seems we always love the cartridge we have and again sound is subjective. There are some excellent MM cartridges out there but I feel comfortable in saying that the vast majority prefer MC cartridges because we have made the subjective assessment that they sound better. 

No arguement lewm. It is a subjective matter but when it comes down to the scientific details I like to see a fair and even presentation. When I see a skewed one my BS antenna goes up.
I guess I am lucky. Currently my least expensive cartridge is the Ortofon Windfeld Ti. I have not evaluated cartridges at the lower end of the price range in a while. The Last one was the Ortofon 2M Black which I have to admit was excellent. There is certainly a point of extremely diminishing returns and that point (I'm guessing) is about $1K . I can certainly say that a Clearaudio Goldfinger is in no way $10,000 better than the Windfeld Ti.
It is all about what you can afford and what you like the sound of. The problem is that auditioning cartridges is difficult and many of us have bought cartridges we wind up not liking. 

I never held on to cartridges I didn't think I would use any more. Fortunately, the urge to buy another one has not struck yet. 
Your ears are rather simple devices. It is actually the state of your mind. Your psychological state changes the way you perceive, pain , hearing , sight, all of it. In other words, one day you are in the mood for this another for that. It is always nice to have a choice:)

Chakster, Ledermann's lectures are just a marketing tool. There is truth in them but also unfortunately distortions designed to favor his products. In Peter's case I actually think he believes himself. This is what happens when you let assumptions lead you around by the nose. Having an hypothesis is fine but to make it fact you have to prove it. Peter handily neglects that aspect. On the other hand nobody has proven him wrong.
Roberjerman, I forgot to add that although you are right, the damper in MC cartridges prevents the reflection of some energy energy is still reflected at the grove in the for of inertia. The force required to move the effective mass of the stylus and cantilever. This force is effectively absorbed by the vinyl as long as the stylus is tracking correctly. 

Thank you roberjerman, exactly. One thing though. Joe Grado (a watch maker) invented the moving coil cartridge. For some reason I have not been able to ascertain he switched to moving iron. Obviously he thought it better for some reason. I wish I could say more about Soundsmith cartridges but I have just never been tempted to buy one although I find the cactus cantilever intriguing.