It is usually assumed that spending more money on MCs brings an all-round improvement in sound. This isn't necessarily so, and as one who personally owned true legendary high-end MCs and still owns and uses them, I can say that with the increase in clarity (usually at the expense of a touch or more than a touch of brightness, even in today's modern designs), comes a consequent loss of subtle timing information which I believe MMs better communicate overall. Also MMs simply sound more "meaty", rounded, visceral. At this point in my audiophile life, if I was forced to choose between living with MCs or living with MMs, I would go MM, currently either the Shure V15VxMR (a master at timing and bass and neutrality - far more so than any MC I've ever heard) or a Grado Woody (master at retrieving a believable resonance and decay), not having heard the Clearaudio. There are many others as well with very high-end systems who also prefer the sound of MMs. More research is needed, as untested assumptions still hide all over the place. Refinement is only a small and relatively unimportant - musically - part of the story.
