Cartridge Man MM3 vs. ZYX R100 Fuji FS?

I have heard the Airy 2 which sounded delightful - everything you could want from a cartridge - open, balanced, uncolored with bass beatifully detailed, extended and natural. I was assured by the Zyx agent that the RS100 has the same "family" sound and that only the most resolving systems would benefit from the more expensive cartridge.

In contrast, when I heard the Cartridge Man, I was impressed by the sense of 'air' and openness of the music and it was detailed. I thought it lacked in bass weight.

Arthur Salavatore rates the Zyx R100 Fuji as one of the best. I have read a perception on some forums that the Cartridge Man is over-hyped.

I'm planning to pick up an R100 Yatra when I'm in Hong Kong later this year.

The Music Maker 3, like all cartridges, performs best when matched with the correct tonearm. All things being equal, it works better with unipivots as opposed to fixed bearing tonearms. Lack of bass weight should not be an issue if a suitable tonearm is aligned correctly and the tracking force is precisely adjusted.
Bill Feil

Have not heard the Fuji, but in my system, with a Music Maker III, Hadcock 242, Spacedeck and Acoustech Ph1 pre, there is full bass, rich midrange and great musical sense.
I also have a Shelter 901 and Origin Live Illustrious that I bought second hand.
These are two very different animals: the 901 more hifish and the MM more sensual.
The 901 + OL retail price is almost twice than MM + hadcock, but I don´t see twice the difference.

I have the JMW12.5 Arm (unipivot design) & tried the Music Maker & ended
up selling it because it did not sound good. high frquencies showed excessive sibilance & I tried every
adjustment in the book & no dice.

I now have the Shelter 501 mkII on the same Arm & is
a better match with the JMW. Not great but better than
with the Music Maker.

I am now thinking of changing the Arm to an OL Illustrious,
or Shroder (if I win the state Lottery)

Manual.....do you think the Shelter 501 would sound about
the same on an Illustrious Arm as your 901 on that Arm?

Say...have you tried putting the 901 on the Hadcock or the
Music Maker on the Illustrious?

Thanks for the responses everyone.I'm surprised that no one has directly compared these two since they fall somewhat into a similar price range and both have been getting rave reviews as "giant killers".

Well, seeing how no one has offered a direct comparison, I guess I'll have to do it. I just bought them both.

It will take a few months, but when the dust settles, we'll see who's still standing.

Actually, i expect them both to be excellent, just different views of the same material.