What innovative, unconventional cartridge designs can you recommend?

@richardbrand 

I also do not believe there is any direct noise from static in any cartridge but it does attract dust and other pollutants which become boulders to crash through at the microscopic level. Along with scratches, these can ruin a listening session. Somehow, perhaps because of the relatively light cantilever, etc. assembly, it is less perturbed by debris and skates over/past it rather than crashing through it. Kind of like less unsprung mass in a car allows better overall contact with the road, especially on rough roads. I'm making this up of course, but I have noticed records are quieter.

If there are settings for the bass output, I suggest you start at the highest frequency setting because the bass can be prodigious.

Enjoy! It's different and better, at least in my system. Granted, I was coming from a Monster Cable Sigma Genesis 2000. Revelatory. 

@tcutter 

Kind of like less unsprung mass in a car allows better overall contact with the road, especially on rough roads

Plenty of rough roads in 'Oz!  I am amazed how stiffly sprung most modern cars are, especially with those big wheels.  I'd take a Citroen DS or Austin 1800 for comfort any day, but I am a fan of air suspension.  Offroad, we go for very long travel coil springs and halve the tyre pressures, while hanging on to the Jesus bar!

I think part of the reason boulders are less noticeable with optical cartridges is that the cartridge reacts to position, not velocity.  Riding over a boulder does not change position as much as it affects velocity.

@richardbrand 

and that is why I like ceramic composite brakes because there is much less unsprung weight. Improves the handling.
 

I think your explanation is more likely correct. It does create the signal differently from moving magnet and moving coil cartridges as you point out.

@tcutter 

I like ceramic composite brakes because there is much less unsprung weight

The disk brakes on the front-wheel drive Citroen DS were inboard for that reason, as were the rear brakes on the Rover P6 which also mounted the differential to the body, using a De Dion rear arrangement.  The E-type Jaguar also had its rear disks inboard to reduce unsprung weight.

Just found some details on SoulNote's Japanese website so now I have some idea what the front and back panels look like.

These are the words from an English Press Release.

Phono Equalizer E-1 VER2 Key Features

Dedicated Optical Cartridge Input In addition to the conventional MC/MM inputs, a dedicated optical cartridge input has been added. Remarkably, for a product in this class, all analog circuits employ a discrete, non-NFB design. •

A New Type-R Circuit For the analog circuit dedicated to the optical cartridge, the New Type-R circuit (*) has fully been integrated, originally developed for the flagship E-3, to deliver exceptionally rich, organic, and lifelike sound.

A newly developed Bias Circuit The S/N has been enhanced by the newly developed bias circuit.

A discrete, non-NFB Regulator Even the dedicated power supply for the optical cartridge features the same discrete, non-NFB regulator used in higher-end models, providing the source of organic and passionate sound.

A newly developed sophisticated Analog Circuit The sound quality of MC/MM playback has also been improved.

Specifications

Input sensitivity: MC: 0.4 mV, MM: 5 mV, OPT: 70 mV

Gain: MC: 77 dB, MM: 55 dB, OPT: 32 dB

Rated output: BALANCED: 3.0 V, UNBALANCED: 1.5 V

RIAA deviation:  ±0.3 dB

MC load resistance: 3Ω, 10Ω, 30Ω, 100Ω, 300Ω, 1kΩ

MM load resistance   47kΩ

Power voltage: 230V AC 50Hz

Power consumption: 24W

Dimensions: 430 (W) × 109 (H) × 409 (D) mm

Weight: 9.5 kg

Included accessories: Spikes, Power cable