Buying a new TT today

When people are in the studio, they produce records trying to make a certain sound - not what is played in the studio, but mixed to achieve a certain sound.

Right, but Doug Sax is famous for DIRECT CUT (Direct-To-Disk) recording techniques. This is when a signal from the mics going to the mixing console and to the cutter stylus (no reel to reel in between). Audiophiles raving about his Sheffield LAB direct cut albums. His monitoring cartridge was Stanton 881s (not even the best Stanton model, but close to the best models). In that TAS article many engineers claimed than MC has a lot of coloration and not true to the sound. This is an opinion, but an opinion from a very well educated sound engineers and mastering engineers with very good ears. @sokogear

It must be a very good MC to be neutral. 
You should really try some killer MM cartridges, your Acutex can't speak for all MM or MI. 

If I did that, I wouldn't need a phono stage, correct, or would it still help?

Acutex is not a top level MM - it is a good mid level one. What is MI? Sorry I'm not a cartridge analyst like you....

BTW, I listen to jazz and rock and (I guess you would call it} pop (Beatles, Paul Simon, Elton John, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt), so it has to be versatile.

MI is Moving Iron (like all the Grado and Sound Smith)
IM is Induced Magnet (like ADC for example)
MF is Moving Flux (like Glanz and Astatic) 

they are all belong to the group of MM/MI 

Watch SoundSmith lecture, he will explain the most :)) 
@sokogear  

Very relevant thread. So many T.T. choices out there...I’m thinking of selling my Basis Audio 2001/modified Rega RB900 with VTA adjust and upgrading to the Vertere Magic Groove MG-1 with the SG-1 tonearm. Everything I’ve read about the Vertere combo(and Touraj) is stellar. But I could not find many individuals who bought them both and reviewed them. It doesn’t seem like anyone would be less than thrilled but I am curious. The Vertere set up seems like a very big bang for the buck.

Any folks here have that set up or are familiar or heard reviews?
Thanks!

@chakster 

Relating to the Doug Sax article. I recently got into vintage reel to reel. A 4 track revox B77. A record dealer friend found me 25 7.5 ips tapes. Mostly jazz from the 50’s and early 60’s. I listened almost exclusively to these tapes for a couple weeks. Going back to my mc cartridges there was a distinctly different presentation. But switching to mm (881s) it was much closer.  Most noticeable was guitar and piano. MM and even better, tape,  gives a fuller, more weighted sound similar to when I hear my guitar and piano in the house. My mc cartridges are all of the more full bodied sound too. But I have to say piano from some of these tapes was the  closest to the piano downstairs that I’ve ever heard in my room. But not in the audiophile sense. The tapes don’t have the frequency extension, soundstage, and air. But wait. Neither does my piano. Or my original 1962 Stratocaster through my  assorted Fender amps.