Any truth to my feeling that MM carts are possibly better than MC on rock recordings?


I have an Ortofon Red on a Project Debut Carbon and a EAT C Sharp with an MC Ortofon Quintet Black. I have two systems and I've switched the tables between the systems and tried a few different scenarios and I hear a little more punch with the Ortofon Red. I know all things aren't equal here but I'm trying to explain this somehow. One system is Dynaudio Evidence Temptations with JC 1 Monos and JC 2BP Pre. PS Audio Stellar phono or a little Project MM phono. The other system is PrimaLuna 400 Evo Integrated with same phono stages and Salk Sound 3 speakers. The Project and Ortofon Red sound great to my ears. More punch and solidity of sound.
128x128bubba12
Better is subjective.  So is thinking that one type of cartridge, speaker, amp, etc. is "better" for a particular genre of music.  There may be certain characteristics about a piece of gear that make it "better" for your particular listening tastes, so that is what's most important - finding the right gear to match your tastes (and your budget of course).  

I have a VPI Classic 2 with a Kiseki Blue NS MC cart on it, and it is the "best" to my ears out of all the 5 turntables I own and about a dozen cartridges.  It's dynamic, does soundstaging and imaging very well, has good channel separation, is quiet, doesn't get bright or sibilant, and is fairly neutral without any one region being over-emphasized.  

That doesn't stop me from liking other things that maybe aren't as "good". 

I've had my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MM cart mounted on my Technics SL 1200 MK2 recently and have been enjoying that immensely.  It's not as refined as the Kiseki, but it's "punchy" as you described and energetic and has a lot of the same qualities I like in the Kiseki Blue.  When I want to listen to something more "refined", I go to my Hana SL (MC), which sounds almost as good on the SL 1200 MK2 as the VPI/Kiseki combo.  

I'm currently using a Manley Chinook tubed phono stage with the SL1200 MK2 and a Pass Labs XP-15 solid state with the VPI.  Both are great, but also different.  The Pass is a little more refined and quiet, while the Chinook has a little more tube goodness and maybe a little more of that "punch".  I really can't decide which one I like better and they sound great with either table.
@big_greg    Absolutely part of the fun. I'm enjoying the ride and trying to let my ears decide. Sometimes i don't agree with the majority it seems. I will continue to experiment but mainly I just want to listen. Thanks for the input.
FWIW, Doug Sax, a recording engineer of the first caliber, was a strong advocate of Stanton 681 EEE cartridges as the most faithful to master tape. 
Doug Sax probably knows what’s he’s talking about.  I have so many cartridges, and I think $1100.00 is the most I’ve ever spent,  but the one that gets the most play time by far is an early 80’s Nagaoka MP11 Boron.  It does everything exceptionally well. At least to me, and that’s what’s counts.

N. 
I love experimenting with different cartridges and have recently ventured into the MC with the Hana SL. The Nagaoka MP 500 is an absolute fantastic MM for all types of genres including rock/metal.