Dear @mijostyn and friends: " The first and most important is tracking ability..."
I could say that cartridge tracking ability is the first main " desired " operation characteristic.but for the cartridge can shows 90um its overall set up and tonearm makes a critical role down there.
Anyway with or with out what I said on cartridge tracking the cantilever-less designs are the worst ones in that regards.
Not many audiophiles really take care the cartridge ability before pull the triger for.
Better cartridge tracking abilities means not only lower tracking distortions but that we can get more MUSIC information from those " auwful " LP groove modulations.
The different cartridge motor principle kind of designs are all good with its own trade-offs along the added manufacturer trade-offs and the DaVa is a good example when the designer choosed cantilever-less characteristic and not only that but over 3 different power supplies for the owner can tame the sound to his own targets, even in those power suplies with different choice of voltage and this makes a difference and the owner can choose in between. So an equalizer, then where the manufacturer left the field coil advantages?. eVEN SOME OWNERS ADDED AN EXTERNAL ADDITIONAL FILTER ( made by they self. ) APPROVED BY THE DESIGNER.
In my case I don’t like other eq. that the necessary inverse RIAA eq.. Of course that the overall design always is a privilege of the designer/manufacturer and if we take a look for the DS optical design the principle looks really good with clear advantages over other principles but here too the owner needs a manufacturer equalizer that " mainly " works with the cartridge bass range response but the manufacturer in reality is not precise on what at the end makes that equalizer that comes with a price tag of 45K added to the cartridge 15K.
Yes, 45K for two boxes, 3 transformers, millions of uf filtration and owner choice of bass range eq. selection to mate the customer targets.
What’s all about? because " professional " reviewers and audiophiles touted as in this thread both cartridges. Yes the decision is up to each one of us, things can’t be in other way but if I wanted an additional equalizer in my room/system certainly I will not do it through a cartridge but I will go for the best out there that can gives me many other good " things " and that unit comes from FM Acoustics. I remember that the first time that I posted of this audio product all analog lovers were " against " me but.........
It’s a learning lecture the FM whole information and each one of us can imagine what can do for any room/system and obviously any top cartridge:
https://www.fmacoustics.com/products/harmonic-linearizers/fm-133-fm-233/
In the other side you are rigth too on the stylus quality that yes in the top designs are hand selected but the cantilever material is little more important because its direct tendency to develops additional resonances/vibrations in the cartridges .
@jcarr once posted that and even said that he bougth boron for cantilevers because its high demand a low offer suppliers. It’s so important that he puts in its top cartridge models diamond dust all over the boron cantilevers to improve its stiffness. Diamond is the material with the higher Young Modulus value followed by boron.
Btw, is something " weird " that that OP expensive Grado top model came with an almost " ridiculous " stylus shape for that kind of $$$$ level cartridge.
@larryi , you are rigth too and that FET cartridge design you mentioned came from way many years I never listened but looks in paper as very good principle too.
No, almost no one take care about the ART 1000 just for what @syntax posted: inexpensive cartridge for some one takes seriously even that’s a seriously and very good design but unfortunatelly this is the analog world where we aLL LIVE.
Other good point is the one @tmasphere posted on those additional 2 wires for the field coil designs that yes stiff the tonearm and this is not a good " notice " for the owners even that all of them are truly satisfied and that the cartridge has a 6 months wait listing owners but the Formula One has one full year.
R.