Top 5 favorite MM cartridges currently available

Triode, Is the Maestro really a step up from Virtuoso? Several on the other MM thread suggested it was not as good, let alone better, than the V. I have no opinion, not having heard either.

Triode&Lew, The Clearaudio series MM carts differ only qua
cantilever /styli and corpus (wood + metal kind). According
to Raul Peter Ledermann told him that the Virtuoso stylus was 'mediocre'. I assume that Raul retipped his Virtuoso by Peter. When we discussed cantilevers in the MM thread J. Carr mentioned the difference between aluminum cantilevers versus the 'exotic kind' (boron, ruby,etc). In the 'éxotic' kind the stylus must be glued while in aluminum they can be pressure fitted. This way there is a direct connection between the stylus and the cantilever. That is btw why I asked Axel to 'upgrade' my Virtuoso with
the nude line stylus pressure fitted in a(tapered) aluminum cantilever. We of course assume that cantilevers and styli do matter. Halcro also ordered the same upgrade for his Virtuoso black by Axel and was 'euphoric' about the result. Not sure however how much importance one should attribute to his opinion because his 'euphoria' reg. the
MM as well as LOMC's carts seems to have no bondaries.

Regards,

Dear Nikola,
I know your penchant for quotation marks......however, as a lawyer......I would expect your reading to be more thorough?
If you re-read my posting......I think you will find that I described the Empire 1000ZE/X as sounding 'euphoric'? Particularly in the FR-64s tonearm.
I neither described myself nor the Clearaudio Virtuoso as being 'euphoric'?

Happy as I am with Axel's excellent work on the Virtuoso and FR-7f.......I have not yet crossed the edge to euphoria.
That state is still reserved for the Professor's favourite Signet TK-7LCa mounted in the SAEC WE-308N with Dertonarm's special alignment dialled in.
Regards
Henry

Dear Henry, you made the comparison with blonds, brunettes,
red-haired,etc., to disclaim my own illusion about the 'fidelity'. There was some confusion in the MM thread between 'euphonic' and 'euphoric' but I thought that someone who is euphoric about the blonds, the brunettes,etc., and used this metaphor to explain his
preferences reg. the carts , should have more 'euphoric'
feelings reg. the carts then about just one or two. There
is this old conception about 'quantity' and 'quality'
but if both can be measured the (pre) assumed difference
does not exist. Kant and Hegel never got this right because
they thought that those are different 'animals'. The problem is/was with 'conceptions'. Those are not statements which can be true or false but only senseless
or useful dependent on our understanding or insight.
Btw I always read your post with indepted care.

Regards,

Slightly OT: Has anyone here compared the Soundsmith MI to the Clearaudio MM offerings in the $750-$1000 price range? I really like what I hear and hear about the Soundsmiths, but no local dealers sell them, and I would really prefer to pay for professional mounting. There is, however, an excellent Clearaudio dealer near me. Hence, the question. If you have compared these carts, please share your impressions. Thanks!