06-27-08: AtmasphereI absolutely agree. The cartridge that can keep the inner voices of an orchestra sorted out while presenting a cohesive whole, one that can make the big dynamic jumps for bombastic orchestral pieces, the one that presents the liquid, dynamic subtleties of a string quartet--also works for doing the same things in combo or big band jazz, and makes Dwight Yoakam and ZZ Top sound more visceral and alive as well.
Tracking ability and relaxed, transparent presentation without noise are things that are important for a cartridge used for classical music, although really those requirements are important for lots of other music too so I am of the opinion that what is good for classical is good for everything.
There are some mighty fine cartridges mentioned in this thread, but down here at the trailer park, I'm enjoying a new Audio Technica AT150MLX mounted on an LPGear ZuPreme headshell on my Technics SL12x0 M5G. I got a noticeable improvement in all areas and in all genres compared to the DL-160 it replaced, and the carts I started with aren't even worth mentioning.
Also, the 8.3g AT150MLX mounted to the 12g ZuPreme headshell brings the arm/cart resonance to an ideal 10 Hz.