My question is why Moving Coils should be thought to be better than moving
magnets. I can think of several reasons why they should be worse, lower
compliance and higher mass, but not why they should be better. Trackability
should be better on a MM, as should record wear due to lower tracking
weights.

The quality of the stylus may be better on an expensive cartridge, but in my
own case, I have a Goldring 1042 and a Shure V15IIIMR. The stylus in the
Goldring is the Gyger S, I understand similar to the VdH, the Shure MR is a
Namiki profile, so they are as good as anything available on a moving coil.

Similarly, frequency response plots of moving magnets and moving coils don't
show any particular benefit to the MC, nor does stereo separation or
harmonic and intermodulation distortion. So why *are* MC cartridges throught
to be better?

If anyone knows of any good engineering reasons why this should be so, I
would be most interested to hear.

Thanks

S.