Cartridges that get strings right?

Don't forget set-up. Until I got serious about set-up, my higher end Koetsu was rather disappointing - not that much better than a higher end MM.

But when I got serious - no - actually fanatical about set-up (like azimuth in 10 minute of arc increments, and a professional torque screwdriver), the Koetsu blossomed to an unexpected degree. Resolution and definition without tears. 

My thanks to those who have made suggestions about cartridges  ;)

I’m intrigued about the comments about tracking. Getting the fundamental and the overtones right (for those who like statistics: I suspect “right” has a lot to do with an even transfer in the frequency domain and minimal phase distortions in the time domain) is a tough task. Peter Ledermann talks of the importance of tracing the groove accurately; I hope to hear a Paua and a Hyperion next week to try to get a sense of how well the higher-zoot Soundsmiths do with strings. 

I love listening to strings and I love what my Dynavector XV-1s does to reproduce them. Never sibilant, always smooth as silk with excellent ability to resolve details. I had a Clearaudio Concerto before that and it wasn't nearly as good, especially with strings in the upper registers.

Everything matters. Having said that, for me/my system/my likings...SoundSmith Sussurro MKII..really floats my boat! It just brought everything together.

I should also add that I upgraded cartridges, then tonearms, then table, against expert advice, which was, table first, tonearm second, cartridge third. I should have listened to that advice, and saved myself some money.

Thing is, a TT generates noise. It's best to reduce that. The tonearm holds the cartridge in precise relation to the record. It's best if that precise relation is the correct one.

Asking a cartridge to make up for the TT and the tonearm is asking far too much, even of a precision instrument.