Highest detail cartridges

@viridian   No apologize necessary.  My opinion....

I am, unfortunately, very sensitive to timbre particularly in cellos, double reeds and violins.  Yes, there are variations in some equipment used to record the instruments, but in my opinion less so than in cartridges and arms. 

In my system, cartridge anomalies, arm resonances, tube warmth, and similar often appear in my system as "bloom" at various frequencies that distorts instrumental timbre.  Some listeners like that distortion and call it "musical" or other descriptions that are used to rationalize distortion.

If price is no problem the new Topwing Blue Dragon is the king of detail
only $12500 for next to the best and $16500 for the Red Sparrow
here is a review:
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2018/04/top-wing-seiryu-blue-dragon-cartridge.html
Dr Vinyl will install cartridge anywhere in lower 48 states for the retail price
http://drvinyl.net/drv_news/

In my system, cartridge anomalies, arm resonances, tube warmth, and similar often appear in my system as "bloom" at various frequencies that distorts instrumental timbre. Some listeners like that distortion and call it "musical" or other descriptions that are used to rationalize distortion.

+1
I prefer tubes, but have the same concerns.
I find that if the tone arm is able to track the cartridge correctly, then the actual choice of cartridge is far less important. IOW the tone arm/cartridge combination properly set up far overshadows the choice of cartridge. On this account, I've seen some pretty inexpensive cartridges keep up with some really expensive ones effortlessly, all on account of the fact that the tone arm really did its job right.

@atmasphere +1  though I have heard some significant differences in cartridges even with the most careful set-up I can provide.  I'm currently using a Lyra Clavis DC with a new cantilever and stylus (from Soundsmith) that is outperforming its predecessor OC9/II.  Everything downstream is the same.  After hearing the rebuilt Lyra with all the additional detail, I became interested in other carts that might provide as good or better detail.  Since that time, I have decided to just stick with the Clavis DC as long as it will work to its current level.

I agree that some less expensive cartridges can provide superb performances, and also that careful setup and arm matching is critical.