You need to consider what price level your system can support to justify the expense and then research that price-point. I would stay away from a "shibata" as this design will eat up your vinyl since it has 2 sharp longitudinal edges, one on either side that literally "scrape" the groove. Set up right they're the best, however at the expense of the record. The apparatus used to align the cartridge is so simple, you could easily make one out of cardboard. You need a roughly 4x5in. piece. Press a hole for. the spindle with a pen or pencil, a little too small. Now push it onto the spindle to the mat. Draw a line out from the exact center of the spindle to the outer edge of the cardboard. Now make a mark on that line at the half-way point of tone-arm travel ie: half-way between the spindle and the outer edge of a record. Puncture that point with a needle for the stylus to fall into. Draw a grid parallel and perpendicular to your original line, surrounding the spot you punctured. Install your cartridge so that it is just snug, loose enough to move it around. With the stylus in the hole the body of the cartridge must be aligned with the grid. This is trial and error. Don't try to align it with the stylus sitting in the hole, but simply take note of it's relative location, lift it, move it, and set it back down again and so on till it's in place. Now tighten the screws- firmly- 1/4 turn after snug. Be extremely precise as the retrieval of information depends on it. This coupled with precise rake-angle will yield very linear life-like sound. Granted your anti-skate adjustment must also be precise. I would do this by listening if possible.
