"Cartridges / phono-stages should honour the RIAA equalisation curve."

The RIAA curve has nothing to do with cartridges,  it is compensation for some of the shortcomings of the vinyl mastering/playback system.  The mastering side of the curve is applied when the record is cut and the phone stage is supposed to supply the inverse.

@robob My inexactitude!  In the back of my mind was the raised treble response many cartridges display ...

Isao Suzuki Trio Quartet – Blow Up album released by Three Blind Mice. Album recorded in 1976. Song: Aqua Marine.

Three Blind Mice record made natural sounding records, rich of color, with good soundstage and imaging, air for the instruments to breathe, and with excellent dynamics and brilliance.

There are several audiophile pressings of the Blow Up album. What gets me is the ever increasing intensity and realism of the cymbals as they crash during crescendos is the song Aqua Marine. The cello is also amazing as well. The ambience in the recording venue can be heard during this recording and the light touch of the snare drum as it’s gently brushed is easily heard. This song to me is a great example of how exceptional some recordings on vinyl can be.

Another, already mentioned, is the Dave Brubeck Time Out album, song, Take Five. I have the Classic Audio 45 RPM version and this stands out to me as a great example of how music on vinyl can sound. On my system, I can discern the instance when either the tape or mixing controls were adjusted during one segment of the song. I hear a distinct change in sonic attributes, as if one track on the song was slightly faded a little too much or that the tape was spliced during this segment. One other thing I notice is the distinct sound of the drumstick hitting the side of the drum, it’s noticeable as a wood sounding crack and not the thwack in the drum material itself.

These two albums are without a doubt in my top 5 audiophile pressing play list.

Once again, thanks to everyone who has come up with specific recommendations!  If I seem slow to take them up, it is partly because I am away from home a lot.

I've also had to service my Mercedes Sprinter, which carries a motorhome body.  Normally a service is about A$1,000 and this time I was quoted $1,250.  It has only travelled 80,000-kms, and needed its first change of disk pads.  The original quote did not include $1,000 for parts and oils!  They spotted a slight oil leak from the steering, and told me I needed a new steering rack.  By now the quote was north of $A11,000.  I cut the non-essentials but still got hit for A$3,500.

This has postponed my record buying for a couple of months!

The RIAA curve has nothing to do with cartridges,  it is compensation for some of the shortcomings of the vinyl mastering/playback system.

@robob I can't let this stand- sorry.

The RIAA curve is based on the 'constant velocity' characteristic of magnetic cartridges and also magnetic cutter heads. Magnetic cartridges are constant-velocity devices: the signal is proportional to the velocity of the stylus. High frequencies cause the stylus to move faster, so there's more signal level as frequency rises. The cutting head used to make the master is also a constant-velocity device, so a magnetic cartridge "matches" the characteristics of the cutting head. The RIAA pre-emphasis is applied when mastering to restrict excessive groove excursion (bass cut) and to reduce surface noise (treble boosted in record, rolled off during playback).

The EQ is not to overcome a shortcoming IOW. FWIW, the mastering process can produce undistorted grooves that no pickup has a prayer of playing; its designed to be impossible to overload. The limit and distortion sources are mostly due to playback, not record. I learned this the hard way by owning an LP mastering setup for about 30 years.