Groovy Picture

That is not an actual slow-motion video of a stylus playing a groove.  That was made by stop action photography of static placement of the needle in the groove.  It is an animation.

Ketchup,

Thanks for the really interesting Neumann sketch.  It certainly looks like a similar design, with the magnetic pole pieces and the coils oriented differently.  

bimasta,

You raise an interesting question.  I don't know if there are many modern advances in cartridge design.  Fundamentally, design has not changed in a long time.  Even the exotic forms, such as optical cartridges (light source, shade attached to the cantilever, and photoelectric sensor); and field-effect transistor cartridges have been around for some time.  So, it really comes down to a question of whether there has been any significant refinements or variations on existing basic models.

The notable one, to me, is Audiotechnica's ART 1000 cartridge which attaches very tiny coils to the tip end of the cartridge (just behind the stylus).  As far as I know, this is a unique design.  I think the cartridge sounds quite good.  I heard it in a setup which usually features Koetsu cartridges.  By comparison, it is a leaner sounding cartridge than typical Koetsu cartridges.  I liked its very lively presentation--it sounds quite dynamic.  

Chakster,

That is a very interesting picture.  I like the idea of printing the coil (certainly easier than winding), but this structure looks a lot more massive than the ART-1000's coil, which must significantly increase the moving mass of the system (on the plus side, the large number of windings means higher output).

Have you heard the ART-1000 and can compare the sound to the Victor?  There are a number of unusual designs that have gone by the wayside that actually sounded quite promising.  I wish someone would make the field-effect transistor cartridge again (the gate element of the transistor is a permanently charged electret that is attached to the cantilever; to me, a really clever idea).