Tonearm/Cartridge Combinations: What Do You Own (Or Have Owned) And Recommend?

@mijostyn... yes I love the Windfeld Ti. My second cartridge that I rotate onto the Origin Live Illustrious is a Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. Each cartridge brings a different but equally captivating presentation.

Any stone body Koetsu sounds magical on either a Fidelity Research FR64fx or FR64S. In a lower price bracket, the Shelter Accord on FR64fx can be pretty shocking in just how much of the stone Koetsu’s musicality it replicates, for less $$$$. But this model may have been discontinued? It’s frustrating trying to get Shelter information here in the USA.

In an even lower price category, the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze is a great match in 64fx, but this is a bit more notable drop-off from the Shelters and Koetsus. On a tighter budget, a Cadenza Red on 64fx can do nicely in a pinch, but again the drop-off from Bronze will be noticeable. I fought a bit of brightness/fatigue with the higher-line Ortofons (Windfeld MC, Jubilee) on 64fx, which perhaps indicates that the Cadenzas’ lower compliance got on better with that arm? Either way, the midrange on those Ortofons didn't woo me like the Japanese cartridges. 

The FR arms on the used market can be quite a deal.

Micro DD8/MA-505 tonarm/Nagaoka MP-500 cart.

Lets see,Rega RB300 with Goldring Eroica L (long since discontinued in favour of the LX). My first MC and I loved it but I changed the deck from a Manticore mantra to a Townshend Rock mk2 and bent the cantilever fairly soon after. Next up was a Dynavector 17D2 and another (two version both superceded) and then a 17D3 (also superceded), over 20 years all but the last using the Townshend front end damping so not very transferable to other arms. The RB300 was replaced with a Naim Aro, still with a 17D3 but I stopped using the damping trough as I prefered the sound without it on this arm. I never knew the actual tracking weight with the Aro as I couldn’t measure it at the record surface but there was a distinct sweet spot where dynamics took a leap, both micro and macro. Set in the sweet spot I never found it lacking in bass and it was certainly fast. Next up was a Transfiguration Proteus, because I wanted to try something furter up scale and all the reviews were good, they were right too though the sweet spot was even more marked. This cartridge did everything i liked about the 17D3 and added more of it as well as a welcome increase in body. The next change was to the arm and deck, the Townshend was retired temporarily in favour of an Artemis SA-1 and a Schroeder Reference, the latter with an effective mass of 13g. This arm can get a lot more out of the Proteus than the Aro ever did but not straight away, there was a lot of learning to do and 2 years later I’m still finding improvements, just as the Proteus is nearing its end and the company has passed its own so no genuine rebuild for this one. On a wild whim I’ve ordered an ortophon SPU Royal N and a brass mounting plate to increase the effective mass by a few grams but that’s an adventure yet to come, It may need yet more mass but I’ll find out.
Meanwhile I’ve revived the Rock and Aro, now with a London Decca maroon but the mono version and this works very well for the old mono pressings I play with it, or it did until it started humming. This deck is now in a second system in an appartment I visit only occationally and the hum comes and goes, I may yet be able to cure it.I suspect most of this will be of use to very few if any.

+1 for @mulveling 

FR 64 FX and stone-bodied Koetsu is pure magic. Not so sure about FR 64 S and Koetsu, though....