With the caveat that other components in my systems were constantly evolving at the same time, I would put the Clearaudio Charisma 2 at the top of MM/MI cartridges I’ve had or heard. With the best being:
All this being said, and despite being committed to MM/MI carts for a decade, I finally broke down and got my first serious MC cartridge about a year ago (an Aidas Durawood) and I have to grudgingly admit that it was better than any of the MMs once I got the SUT set up properly. Unsurprisingly, the Koetsu Rosewood is better still. But both are much more finicky than the MMs ever were.
- Clearaudio Charisma v2
- Soundsmith The Voice
- Clearaudio Virtuoso v2
- Clearaudio Maestro
- Grado Reference Sonata
- Microacoustics MA2002e
- Shure M97xe
- Ortofon 2M red
All this being said, and despite being committed to MM/MI carts for a decade, I finally broke down and got my first serious MC cartridge about a year ago (an Aidas Durawood) and I have to grudgingly admit that it was better than any of the MMs once I got the SUT set up properly. Unsurprisingly, the Koetsu Rosewood is better still. But both are much more finicky than the MMs ever were.