Highest detail cartridges

I’ve had moderately priced cartridges and some expensive ones. One thing I’ve come to realize is how we relate our systems to live music. When listening to live music, no matter the genre, we never pay attention to "detail." I have never caught myself saying ... "man, those guys are really detailed." Nope, I just get carried away by the relaxed, lush and organic nature of the music.

The cartridge I’ve been using for the past 2+ years is the Audio Technica ART-9. It never calls attention to itself. It has no rising top end that a lot of MC’s do to exaggerate what we perceive to be "detail." The ART-9 just gets in the grooves and plays music. Its really good on mono records as well ... better than most in fact.

https://lptunes.com/collections/audio-technica-hifi-cartridges/products/audio-technica-at-art9-phono...

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/pani-new-art-9-up-and-running

Frank

bpoletti - you ask a tough question because there are so many cartridge brands on the market that span price ranges from the modest to the ridiculous, you may get overwhelmed with responses.  

My response is kinda consistent with what other folks posted above.  My primary cartridge is a Lyra Kleos, which I picked up on an exchange for my old Kleos which had a broken cantilever.  The exchange cost me about $2K.  

Paying $2K for a cartridge gave me some pause.  Thee are Lyra models that cost upwards of $8K and even much more.  When one considers that a stylus has a limited life, even under the best of conditions, paying $2K for my Kleos gave me pause to think about the value proposition of the Kleos or any cartridge for that matter. 

I also own a 1st generation Soundsmith Zephyr as my backup cartridge.  This may sound crazy, but it is not a bad sounding cartridge, especially considering its cost.  I've actually been thinking about using my old Zephyr to do an exchange for the Zephyr MIMC Star.  

But IMO, here is where the value proposition comes in.  If you check the Soundsmith website, you should take note that Peter Ledermann will do rebuilds and retips of his cartridges for very reasonable prices.  

So, I would like to put a question out there to other members who own the Zephyr MIMC Star.  What are your comments about that cartridge.  

I think if you get good feedback on the MIMC Star or any other Soundsmith model, I think it should go on the short list for consideration.  I bet the MIMC Star and the other mid-priced Soundsmiths sound great.  And with the very reasonable rebuild/retip  option, Soundsmith makes for a very good value proposition for a cartridge, IMHO.

BIF  

Here is a short list of oustanding MM cartridges:
Audio-Technica AT-ML180 OCC
Victor X-1II
Technics EPC-100c MK4
Technics EPC-205c mk4
Stanton CS-100 WOS
Pioneer PC-1000 mkII
Grace LEVEL II MR/BR
Grace F-14 Ruby
Glanz MFG-61

Here is the short list of MC cartridges that i like a lot:
Victor MC-1
Fidelity-Research FR-7fz and FR-7f
Klipsch MCZ-10 Ruby
Dynavector KARAT 23RS MR
Dynavector KARAT 17DS MR
Ortofon MC-2000

All cartridges are from the golden age of analog, reasonably priced today on the used market.

Hi BIF i have a MIMC sounds very neutral. Not so wide as my Frog, but this is not easy to compare when frequency responses are so different.
Here some measurements from last week. Kiselkis from a dealer and to compare my Frog and MIMC
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4n2ajv3lhnsaki/Messungen%202x%20Kiseki%20Blue%202x%20Purplehead.jpg?dl=0

I’m very impressed with my Audio Technica VM540ML cartridges. I’ve got one on a Technics SL-1700mk2 and another on a Technics SL-Q2. Admittedly, they are the most expensive cartridges I own, and I can’t stomach the idea of spending over $500, let alone $1000 or more on a cartridge.