In the market for a cartridge for Clearaudio Innovation Wood

@mulveling 
Thanks! How is the bass with Koetsu? I've been looking at them but I read that they were good mostly for middle range. 

@michkhol 
Bass is quite satisfying and extended with any of the stone-body Platinum models; slightly less satisfying with the Rosewood Signature Platinum. That said, Koetsus doesn't have the bass thump/punch of a modern high-line Ortofon; my old Windfeld MC (and what I've heard in the A90 and Anna on other systems) had better bass than any Koetsu, but lost out big-time in mids and highs (much sweeter and more natural with Koetsu) -- hence my switch.

Lots of experience with the Innovation, but less so with that particular SME arm.

Keeping your budget in mind I can second the recommendation for the AMG Teatro which is a truly wonderful cartridge. It's become one of my go-to cartridges for an affordable, but high-performance moving coil.

Another good option is the Clearaudio Stradivari. It's a little more money, but I find it to have higher resolution and a little bit more dynamic snap than the AMG without giving up any warmth. If you can stretch to $5K then the Clearaudio DaVinci is one of my all-time favorites. It has most of the magic of the Goldfinger, but without the eye-popping price tag.

Having said all of that, I've absolutely fallen in love with the DS Audio DS002 Optical Cartridge. It's $5K and comes with its own dedicated phono stage (which is required), but I haven't been able to find anything that comes close in terms of performance without spending a lot of cash on cartridge and electronics.

I'm a dealer for all of these products so take these words with a grain of the appropriate seasoning. Having said that, if I were spending my money then I would do the DS Audio and not look back.

I would also agree with esoteric about the DS Audio cartridge and phono preamp. It's a very special cartridge. I listened to it for an hour or so, though it was on the AMG Viella TT and not on a Clearaudio TT. I didn't recommend it because you said your budget was around $3K. If you can stretch it to $5K the DS Audio is worth a listen.

Is the DS Audio cartridge more sensitive to the dust and grime than conventional ones?