MM Cartridge Talk

A few of my favorite MM carts are the Stanton 681EEE and the Shure V15VxMR for vintage/out of production. A few of my fave current models are the Goldring 1042 and the Nagaoka MP500. Grado makes some really nice sounding carts too, but they’re MI carts. 

Shure Ultra 500Shure V15V xMRStanton 681 EEE
Tops - the Shure Ultra 500 (9.3 g. w/ effective mass of 0.165 g) - more detailed, solid performance across all frequencies and tracks every platter I've ever had without effort. Naturally, it should be paired with a lower mass tonearm like an SME Series III.

@technick, I have a Systemdek IIx that has a Grado Black on it.  I am looking to upgrade and am considering a Nagaoka MP300 or MP500 as an upgrade.
I have a reasonably neutral amp (Simaudio Moon 340idpx) and B&W CM5 S2 speakers.  I like the Grado because it compensates for the B&W's which I consider too bright.
In light of my system would the Nagaoka be a good balance?  Long term I want to swap the speakers for something with more warmth and for that I am considering Dynaudio or totem.  All of this is subject to change until I sit down to a serious audition.

The new Audio Technica AT-VM95ML looks incredibly tasty to me. Love MicroLine styli and a slight bit of mass loading might be worth experimenting with.

I'll try to rank the ones I have owned (and can remember).

Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood
Nagaoka MP 500
Shure V15 MKIV with Jico SAS stylus
Shure M97xe with Jico SAS stylus
Realistic R1000 (re-badged Shure M95ed) with Jico SAS stylus
Goldring 2200
Audio Technica AT-95E
Stanton 981 HZS
Music Hall Tracker
Grado Sonata

The Virtuoso wood comes closest to some of my MC cartridges in terms of delivering smooth, dynamic, and detailed sonics.  It does soundstaging and imaging well and to my ears is fairly neutral and has a strong bottom end.  The only thing about this cart is its exposed cantilever.  I stopped using it for a long time after breaking it off twice and paying for two re-tips, but I am using it currently and really enjoying it.  It's a little more rowdy than my Hana SL, but comes close in terms of enjoyment.

The Nagaoka is a little more polite, but also perhaps a little more "brittle" sounding with some material.  Still, it's a very nice cartridge that is pretty neutral, maybe a little on the 'dark' side that does everything well.

The Shure cartridges are all nice, especially with the Jico SAS stylus.  I've never been able to get them loaded quite right to deliver a satisfying (to me) top end, they seem to be either rolled off, or too bright, depending on how they are loaded.  

The Stanton 981 HZS is purported to be a great MM cart, but mine did not sound very good.  It came with a second hand turntable I purchased, so it may just be worn out.  Replacement styli seem to be unobtanium.

The biggest bargain of them all is probably the AT-95E.  I don't know what they go for now, but they were about $100 at the time.  Mine came with a new turntable I bought.  I took it off without even listening to it as I thought it would be junk, but was surprised when I mounted it on a turntable I decided to sell.  I didn't spend much time listening to it, but was surprised by how good it sounded, especially for its price.