Shelter cartridges...Any thoughts?

I can't compare the shelter to your other choices and the cartridge is heavily dependant on the arm you use but I went out of my way to listen to an Origin arm/Shelter combo recently and was impressed. Specifically, the Origin Live Illustrious arm, and a Shelter 901. I also heard the Shelter 501 and the Origin Live Encounter arm.

I listened to them on the recomendation of Tom(TWL). I talked to him recently and his advise to me was:Teres,Origin,Shelter.

Cheers
I remain

I have Nottingham (Spacedeck)/Origin Live(Illustrious)/Shelter(501 MkII).

Fabulous.

I have heard both the 901 and 501 in the Illustrious. They are, IMHO, equally fine cartridges, depending on tastes. I find the 901 a bit more detailed while the 501 has a certain warmth (not dark) that makes me sometimes have a hard time deciding between the two. Either way, they are fine cartridges and I think they both best the Helikon (which I have heard on several occasions). If buying an OL arm, I advise to inspect it thoroughly before purchase. Great performance. Uneven QC. IMHO

With a proper arm, you can't go wrong with a Shelter cartridge. I agree with Craig, and with David's assessment above. I use a 501 and like it very much. I use a modified OL Silver tonearm with it. They make a good match, OL/Shelter.

Of course, there are other good cartridges, but Shelter is very tough to beat for the money.