Top 3 high compliant mm/mi cartridges

To my ears, the Ortofon VMS30MKII sounds best. The VMS20MKII is easier to find, of higher compliance and Ortofon still makes its replacement styli. The Stanton 981 HZS and Pickering XSV5000 are very nice. JICO makes Shibata replacement styli for the Pickering XSV4000 which (to me) sound quite nice on the 5000 body. The Stanton 881 and Pickering XSV3000 are easier to find and have the house sound. JICO Shibata styli are available. I prefer a richer, warmer presentation with vinyl than with cds, and the carts that I've mentioned provide that for me.

The Grace F9E or F9E Ruby, with (assuming it has been used significantly) Soundsmith's $250 ruby cantilevered/elliptical stylus "retip."

The cartridge is rare, sought after, and expensive for a vintage cartridge, though (with good reason, IMO). A non-ruby F9E that was offered by a seller in Japan, apparently in excellent used condition, recently sold on eBay for $437.

Regards,
-- Al

All the info above is good. I have personal experience with the top of the line Stantons and Pickerings; they are wonderful when in good condition. I listen to my 981LZS much of the time, in fact. Its output is more akin to that of an LOMC however. (The "L" stands for low output.) Make sure you have plenty of gain for it. Raul says he liked the 981HZS even better. (H for high output.) As you may know, if you've read Raul's thread, I also love the Acutex LPM320STRIII, but the LPM with that 320 stylus may now be extinct. It seems that before the thread got started, there was an existing but very small supply of the best vintage cartridges and styli gathering dust on shelves in the US and Europe. The thread seems to have stimulated a buy-out of NOS, such that it is really a treasure hunt, now. Read the MM/MI thread for more ideas than you can shake a tonearm at. Vintage AT cartridges are also much loved, to go with your AT tonearm.

A correction to my previous post: I misspoke when I used the word "elliptical" in conjunction with Soundsmith's $250 retip option. From their website:

With exacting care to angular positioning, we install a RUBY "Single Crystal" cantilever which holds a Nude "Contact Line" diamond, one of the most sophisticated stylus/cantilever assemblies ever made and often superior to those found in cartridges costing many thousands of dollars. This combination creates an ultra low mass system, capable of the finest reproduction from your cherished vinyl. The Contact Line Diamond has three times the contact area in the vertical direction of the groove wall compared to an elliptical shaped diamond. This lowers the "force per unit area" on both the diamond as well as the record groove, resulting in lower record and diamond wear. This upgrade can be done to almost any cartridge and stylus assembly. Once done, tracking force can usually be reduced to 1.3 - 1.7 grams.

Regards,
-- Al

Please wait, as my Grace F9E Ruby will shortly be offered with my Sony x800 table. Those who know, be looking as this combination is seldom offered, mint condition.