Musical involvement?


Ok, I know this is kinda like asking, "why is the sky blue", but....

What makes a tonearm/cart combo sound less involving? Let's assume the same cart on 2 different arms. Also, both setups have been meticulously setup. But one combo, while sounding good, just doesn't get you involved in the music. The notes are there, but......
128x12804rdking
"Assuming meticulously set up".........

Mismatched complaince of cartridge and mass of arm.

Stylus shape, for example line stylus types, vs elliptical, vs conical types. The former can give very precise information not available with conical. But in general use the conical is more forgiving especially of VTA variances due to record thicknesses. Elliptical is a good compromise.

Oh, the obvious - cartridge design, but that is no different than between anything in the system. Most stuff sounds different due to subtle changes in design. Some times not so subtle.
Post removed 
If it is really well set up, meaning that you don't have a genuine mis-match, I would say you just don't like the cartridge or the arm or both. I find too much anti-skate can make things seems less involving, so you might check what method you are using for that.