Better is subjective. So is thinking that one type of cartridge, speaker, amp, etc. is "better" for a particular genre of music. There may be certain characteristics about a piece of gear that make it "better" for your particular listening tastes, so that is what's most important - finding the right gear to match your tastes (and your budget of course).
I have a VPI Classic 2 with a Kiseki Blue NS MC cart on it, and it is the "best" to my ears out of all the 5 turntables I own and about a dozen cartridges. It's dynamic, does soundstaging and imaging very well, has good channel separation, is quiet, doesn't get bright or sibilant, and is fairly neutral without any one region being over-emphasized.
That doesn't stop me from liking other things that maybe aren't as "good".
I've had my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MM cart mounted on my Technics SL 1200 MK2 recently and have been enjoying that immensely. It's not as refined as the Kiseki, but it's "punchy" as you described and energetic and has a lot of the same qualities I like in the Kiseki Blue. When I want to listen to something more "refined", I go to my Hana SL (MC), which sounds almost as good on the SL 1200 MK2 as the VPI/Kiseki combo.
I'm currently using a Manley Chinook tubed phono stage with the SL1200 MK2 and a Pass Labs XP-15 solid state with the VPI. Both are great, but also different. The Pass is a little more refined and quiet, while the Chinook has a little more tube goodness and maybe a little more of that "punch". I really can't decide which one I like better and they sound great with either table.
I have a VPI Classic 2 with a Kiseki Blue NS MC cart on it, and it is the "best" to my ears out of all the 5 turntables I own and about a dozen cartridges. It's dynamic, does soundstaging and imaging very well, has good channel separation, is quiet, doesn't get bright or sibilant, and is fairly neutral without any one region being over-emphasized.
That doesn't stop me from liking other things that maybe aren't as "good".
I've had my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MM cart mounted on my Technics SL 1200 MK2 recently and have been enjoying that immensely. It's not as refined as the Kiseki, but it's "punchy" as you described and energetic and has a lot of the same qualities I like in the Kiseki Blue. When I want to listen to something more "refined", I go to my Hana SL (MC), which sounds almost as good on the SL 1200 MK2 as the VPI/Kiseki combo.
I'm currently using a Manley Chinook tubed phono stage with the SL1200 MK2 and a Pass Labs XP-15 solid state with the VPI. Both are great, but also different. The Pass is a little more refined and quiet, while the Chinook has a little more tube goodness and maybe a little more of that "punch". I really can't decide which one I like better and they sound great with either table.