Soundsmith ’rebuilds’ cartridges, but they also educate people in easily to compehend ways.
An easy explanation of stylus shapes
https://www.sound-smith.com/articles/stylus-shape-information
cantilever material (stylus is attached to a shaft), are stiff and stiffer, Aluminum the basic material, then you get into Ruby, Safire, Boron etc, stiffer materials transferring the groove information without flexing some.
answer for me:
advanced stylus shape: microline or shibata, ...
cantilever: to start with reasonable money: aluminum.
my preferred ’stiffer’ material: boron. this is after you prove you will stick with TT/lps
I won’t go stiffer/more expensive than boron, too pricey and too brittle.
my recommendation to get started:
MM moving Magnet because no signal boost is needed (like most MC moving coils need), and because you can replace only the stylus,
My ’get statred’ recommendation:
you can get it without the headshell for $20. less, but having an extra headshell is a good idea.
check the specification details: for help with imaging, this cartridge has wide channel separation of 28db (high is better IMO), and it’s channel balance is _/- 1.0 db (smaller is tighter, better IMO)
if you consider another cartridge, check those two factors.