No cartridge is good enough.

To the original OP's question, I don't have direct experience on this matter, but I suspect that a Soundsmith strain gauge cartridge (http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/strain-gauge-systems/strain-gauge-systems) mounted on an air-driven linear tracking tonearm on a 6-figure turntable would get you about as close as you can get.

Well, since my LP rig regularly transports me to the artists' performance, place, and time, I have little urge to mess with it at present. Live performances have greater varieties of non-linearities, ambient noise, room acoustics, energy of performance, etc., and they're the real deal. Variations in state of the art vinyl playback pale in comparison.

inna OP
1,673 posts
12-02-2015 10:11am
Well, Atmasphere, you would have to prove your ’fact’.... 

Atmasphere produces highly respected high end tube components. He doesn’t have to prove crap to you.

http://www.atma-sphere.com/Products/

Here’s an alternate thought: Although the cartridge’s challenges and shortcomings are well known, perhaps it has a decided advantage in the symmetry of the kinetics at both ends of the signal chain: The cartridge traces the physical analog of the recording, which creates an electromagnetically induced  signal stream. This is amplified and tranferred to the loudspeakers, where the signal excites the electromagnetic fields of the loudspeakers to make music in the room.  

Analog tape and digital playback don’t have this physical motion that starts the music. A cartridge tracing an LP has something in common with live music in that both sources are physical vibrations.

In a round table discussion of some mastering experts (reported by TAS of S'phile a few years ago), in response to a question about unique properties of vinyl vs. digital or analog tape, Bernie Grundman theorized that the kinetic aspect of the signal generated by the phono cartridge "preconditions" the signal to match what our ears and brains expect.

Next thing we should start talking about, I guess, are microphones. And microphone amps.

Good point. I can't remember where I read it, but somebody (e.g., Fremer or Reichert) mentioned that one reason mono and early stereo recordings sound so real and immediate is because--before the age of multi-channel, multi-mic recording--these recordings only went through three or so mic preamps rather than a couple dozen.