Setting aside the notion that MC cartridges are always superior to MM cartridges, which is patently absurd anyway, and accepting the notion that it is possible to obtain perfectly acceptable performance from either type, your special circumstance seems to me to weigh heavily in favor of choosing a cartridge from among those that have a user replaceable stylus. The idea of a SoundSmith MI, which is relatively painlessly repaired, is also a reasonable suggestion. I own an Experion and it does perform near the top. But this is me, if I were in your shoes I would probably prefer my 2M Black, or my AT150 ANV, either of which is very satisfactory.
Generally speaking, are MC cartridges more delicate than MMs?
Here's why I ask: I'm planning, finally, to get my retirement turntable. My one concern: I'm blind. I've used a Rega Planar 3 for many years without difficulty, though on the rarest of occasions I come up a tad short when cueing up a record and the stylus slides off the platter until I quickly lift the lever and set things right. Not great, obviously, but this is, as I said, rare. And so far has caused no obvious problems. I'm using an Ortofon 2M Black at the moment.
Suppose I were to get a better Rega (Planar 6 or 8) with, say, an Ania Pro. If the same sort of mishap were to occur, would it be likely to be a complete disaster, ruining the cartridge forever and leaving me out of luck and out of music, or would it be more likely to be just like what I described with the setup I've got now?
Thanks for any help anyone can provide.
-- Howard