Seek cartridge w/ following description :

Opus88,

The ZYX Airy 2-X-SB meets your description almost perfectly IME. The Airy 3 and UNIverse do not have that distant a hall perspective, so you can avoid them (and their higher prices.)

Read my review for all the boring details. IIRC we actually discussed the hall perspective differences between the Airy 2 and 3.

I haven't heard one on an SME but they're a good match on mass/compliance specs. Street price is $1950.

Opus88,

I think I wrote what I meant. Here it is in different terms...

Of the three top ZYX's, the Airy 2 has the most distant hall perspective. Something like rows 5-10, obviously somewhat subjective and always dependent on the recording.

The Airy 3 puts you closer. Front row to podium is typical. This is due to its more extended top end and to its generally more free and open character.

The UNIverse puts you wherever the microphones were. Its noise floor is far lower than its lesser cousins, so it reproduces very low levels of information. You don't just hear orchestra members turning pages, you hear them breathing. Yet at the same time you hear hall echoes clearly delineated from the direct sound of the instruments. On a good record this simultaneous sense of intimacy with the musicians within a large, clearly depicted soundstage can be almost uncanny.

Hope that helped clarify,
Doug