MM, MC, or MI cartridge

In some ways comparing MC and MM pickups is unfair. In general the top of the line MC pickups are way more costly than MM pickups.The question of which style is best is like a boxing match between a light weight and a heavy weight.

And then there are examples that don't fit the genral rules. I noticed that one writer said MCs have less moving mass than MMs. I suspect the decades old Technics EPC 100 MK4 MM has the least moving mass and you can find serious listeners who value it highly. And often the rare Decca pickups, not MC, are cited by people like Ken Kessler as the most dynamic pickups.

It's never straight forward. You need to know what kind of reproduction you like and look for a pickup that gives you that sound and whether it's a MM or MC should not be the deciding factor.

Oh and keep in mind that the phono stage you choose will have a big affect both on the sound and cost.

One factor often cited for MC pickups is wider band width due to low inductance. But this is due to fewer coil turns which gives low inductance AND low output. MMs almost always have many more coil turns AND higher output. But there have been MMs with fewer turns AND lower output. The Technics EPC 100 MK4 is an example with FLAT response to at least 80kHz if i Recall correctly(meaning the high end resonance is even higher) and yet it still has 1 mv output which means you can use a good MM phono stage; you don't need a high gain MC type phono stage.