Headshell suggestion for my Pioneer PL600 (dir drive)?

Arche is an outlier for cost and probably very heavy so mostly suitable for low compliance MCs. As you know, the vast majority of headshells can be had for less than $250, usually much less.

Sorry about your high frequencies. We’ve aired this disagreement before, so no need to rehash it. I find the best quality CF headshells to be very neutral, maybe because they’re relatively light and stiff, just like me. I don’t like CF in any other audio component, so there we agree.

Who woulda thunk that we’d ever come full circle from a disdain for detachable headshells to a preference for same? Where the respective rationales are polar opposites.

The headshell ought to match the cartridge, not the tonearm and certainly not the TT. I keep a variety of different types around, of different material composition and mass. Unlike Noromance, I do like carbon fiber, by Yamamoto and Oyaide. I have one made of wood, too, but I’ve yet to match it to a cartridge. You’ve got to experiment for yourself. Fortunately headshells are inexpensive, even good ones.