Cartridge reliability

Chakster, that may true in Japan but how do you know the importer, knowing their audience reports it at 10 Hz. You don't because it does not say. You can call the importer and ask I suppose. MC cartridges keep their compliance down so the cartridges principle resonance frequency is above the audio range. The lighter the effective mass of the moving system the higher you can run the compliance. Dynavector makes a great cartridge and the XV-1t has the lightest moving mass of the line with it's cross shaped metal armature vs the square one their other cartridges use. It has a longish cantilever and tracks at 1.8 to 2 grams. The most compliant MCs I know of are the Van den Huls at around 18 um/mN and they track at between 1.3 and 1.5 grams. They have a short cantilever and use a light plastic cross shaped armature, a much lower effective mass. I find it highly unlikely the XV-1t has a compliance of 20 um/nM at 10 Hz considering its effective mass and tracking force.  

Chakster, how do you know that any manufacturer's compliance rating is at 10 or 100 Hz. It usually does not say. Certainly the math is done at 10 Hz  RF = 159 divided by the square root of Mass X Compliance. So it makes more sense to report it at 10 Hz. You assume that just because a cartridge comes from Japan that it is automatically reported at 100 Hz. 
I do not use the math. I stick to lighter tonearms than add mass as needed by actually measuring the resonance frequency. The variables are poorly controlled so to be accurate there is no other way. Go ahead and put an XV-1t in a 12 gram arm and tell us what happens.  If there are any owners of XV-1t's out there tell us what arm you use it in. I do not own a Dynavector. But, the arms I have seen the XV-1t in would squash a cartridge with a compliance of 20 um/mN at 10 Hz, unless they have been poorly matched. I suppose stranger things have happened. 
Moving magnet cartridges tend to be more compliant than moving coil cartridges because their moving mass tends to be lower. I have an Audio Technica VM95ML It's compliance is listed as 7 um/mH at 100Hz. That would make it 14 um/mN at 10 Hz. This AT is less compliant than the Dynavector? It is less compliant than most MM cartridges probably because it is a dual magnet design. More mass requires a higher compliance to keep the resonance peak of the cartridge up out of the audio band. Obviously it would help if the manufacturers would specify specifically how the compliance was measured.  

Excuse me chakster. The top 4 cartridges in the Dynavetor line have a compliance of 10 um/mN. That is most definitely at the low end of the scale. Better with heavier arms.
The most compliant cartridge in the line is the Karat 17X which is 15 um/mN. That is medium. The DV 20X2 i2 12um/mN on the border. 
Koetsu's are very low at 5 um/mN. These are for use on a fork lift. Your favorite V15 is a high compliance cartridge 30 um/mN. Most people use these with a coat hanger. 

wolfie, I think it is your ears not the cartridges. 
Soundsmith is not his best bet if he does not like the cartridges. He is obviously quite aware he lives near them and Peter Ledermann is not a god. Joe Grado was a god. Edgar Villchur was a god. 
If the cartridge has a warranty and you are dealing with a good dealer you have nothing to worry about. If a cartridge is defective is some way it will manifest very quickly. In the case of the missing stylus it took 4 months. If nothing happens in a year nothing is going to happen unless the cartridge was damaged in some way. Match the cartridge to your arm and get the one you like. Dynavector makes a great cartridge if you have an arm on the heavy side. 

I'm not sure you can characterize cartridge makes by reliability. All the good cartridges have a warranty but, warranty service depends on the performance of the dealer and importer or company. I was worried with the disappearing stylus that they would say it was obvious damage caused by me and soak me for a replacement fee. Didn't happen. Not even close. I have probably purchased 20 or so records from them, but this was the first cartridge I ever bought from them and they immediately sent me a new one without making me return the broken one first. Consequently, if they have it I will get it from them (Elusive Disc) knowing I don't have to worry about defective items. 
I would be more worried about getting a cartridge that worked well with my arm, tracked well and had a neutral character. 

Zavato, I think cartridges as a whole are pretty reliable. As far as problems are concerned I would get the cartridge from a reputable dealer and company that will stand by their products.
Having just lost lost a stylus off a Clearaudio Charisma, a $2000 MM cartridge with the cantilever and stylus of the Goldfinger I can say that Elusive Disc and the importer Musical Surroundings performed splendidly sending a new replacement based just on the USB microscope pictures I sent them. They also sent me a shipping label to return the bad one. You can't possibly ask for more. 
I shy away from cottage MC makers as the support tends to be limited. 
Stay with the major manufacturers and you should be fine. As for Lyra there response to problems is brisk. Jonathan Carr, Lyra's designer frequently posts here. I would have no problem buying one of his cartridges. I have not heard of any problems with Dynavector. They are sold by Upscale Audio, Music direct and the Cable Company. I would check reviews and see if they is a "Best" performer in this group. I have had so much great experience with Elusive Disc I intend to stay with them for the products they carry. Unfortunately, they do not carry Dynavector.