Looking for a Warmer Sounding Phono Cartridge

@drvinyl01 Hi, could you elaborate on your post? In your opinion what exactly is wrong with my system?

I very carefully align my cartridge to the arm and table. I perform all the needed adjustments. I use an arc protractor that I created from an app on this website. I adjust azimuth electronically. I measure and set antiskate. I use the Ledermann technique. I measure FR, distortion, etc. I level the arm balance using a ruled clear arylic block. VTF is set using a digital scale placed in the plane of the LP. I do not alter VTA (perhaps I should).

I perform these adjustments to the best of my abilities. I am a "lab rat". At work, I am an optical engineer with an MS degree. I perform theoretical as well as lab duties equally well. Many optical adjustments are as fine or finer than the ones needed for cartridge installation and alignment.

I have the skills, the knowledge, the tools, and the patience to perform an exact alignment (usually. Lofgren A).

These are the reasons why I am a bit confused by your statements. If you could be more detailed, I will be able to follow and perform your suggestions.

Since I don't adjust VTA/SRA, I would like to have some guidelines for getting the adjustment right. The usual method is by ear. But what does one listen for? Gotta be more exact than "you'll know when you get there, the sound snaps into place".

Thanks for your comments. I would like to hear more about your ideas.

@baylinor I must be looking for the wrong things, as when I've fooled around with VTA, I wind up at parallel again. It may be that I can't discern the subtleties of this adjustment well enough to set it.

Please explain what you look for and what the new alignment will be compared to parallel.

@elliottbnewcombjr Thanks for your offer. I am in California, long way from you.

I do all the adjustments you've mentioned. I am obsessed with getting them set correctly.

I use a 31 band EQ (yeah, I know, evil stuff). I can drop the treble and bump up the lower mid. I want a cartridge that does that adjustment for me.

Perhaps I will never find that cartridge with the seemingly elusive qualities that I desire. I'm not ready to accept that yet.

@kevemaher 

My current carts are Lyra Kleos and Sumiko Starling. The Kleos recommends a parallel setting while the Starling recommends tail down. Obviously the raking angle of the stylus effects how to adjust  the VTA. But in general, tail down will increase the low frequencies and tame the high ones, while tail up will do the opposite. With tail down the Kleos loses to much liveliness, while parallel the Starling doesn't have enough body to the sound. At least these are my experiences in my house of stereo which is very revealing sound wise. Just try lowering your VTA a millimiter at a time and I would be shocked if eventually you do not hear what I am talking about. 

It is pretty clear what you are looking for--something that sounds like the Koetsu Rosewood Signature, but at a small fraction of the price of that very high end cartridge.  I like that cartridge a lot loo, but, I have not heard something comparable that was in your $1500 price range.  Grado wood body cartridges are warm sounding too, but, compared to the Koetsu, they sound murky and lacking in life.  Most of the other warmish cartridges seem to lack, to varying degrees, the lively and engaging quality of a Koetsu.  Perhaps something like an Ortofon Cadenza Red will come reasonably close, but, it still would not be the same.  I would get a cheaper back-up/substitute cartridge and save up for a re-tip by Koetsu when it finally wears out.