What defines a high compliance cartridge vs low

Looking at the specs for the Redgum phono stage,I personally think that the R.I.A.A curve is not really flat(+/- 0.5) and going down to 10Hz might be too sensitive at the lower end of the scale for M.M.Do they the roll-off at 35Khz? The competing Project S.E Phono looks better on paper,much flatter R.I.A.A( no more than 0.3dB fluctuation all up across 20Hz to 20Khz))with impedance adjustment as well.I think the phono stage is the issue given they sell the table with the Goldring M.M.

Interesting figures above. FWIW; Anything under 10g is considered LOW MASS, and if a cartridge had a compliance of 50; it would be considered Stratospheric(high compliance STARTS at 20, and the charts only go to 50). I don't know about, "the Old Days", but none of the figures have changed since 1980. Here's a site that gives the formulas you need, and some pertinent info: ( http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/tonearmcartridge.html ) and another, that you may find useful: ( http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_database.php?m=Denon&t=mc&mod=103d&sort=1&Search=Search&sty=&ovlo=&ovhi=&can=&dclo=&dchi=&stid=&masslo=&masshi=¬es=&prlo=&prhi= ) Another point that many miss: Compliance varies with frequency. Another helpful site: ( http://www.resfreq.com/resonancecalculator.html )

Mechans, thanks so much for the detail; it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all,
Rodman thanks for the links, but essentially I can't do much to change the arm on the MMF-5 so I will sell it some day when and if I can afford a second MC system.
Stefani thanks for the details on the RedGum. I don't hear any roll off with these speakers. VR2s don't produce the lowest bass.
They are very good speakers but were the smallest floor standers in the VS VR line at the time. They were bought for WAF and the fit and finish . The lightly patterned maple veneer is still mint despite kids and about 10 years of use.
However they are probably not the best match for the superb DA-60. I still recommend them because they are an incredible bargain. I heard that some were manufactured in China some time after I bought mine which are USA made in San Diego.

In fact there HAS been a considerable reduction in compliance since 1980; you can see this by looking at Shure cartridges using the old HiFi Choice tests, the most exhaustive ones ever done. The Shure V-15 3 was measured in 1977 as having a compliance of 40; by 1980 the V-15 3 HE had risen to 53. But in the same issue the Type 4 was only 32. And in 1982 the type V was measured at 25, half that of the 3 HE. In the late 70s the compliance race that had been going on for years reached its climax and retreated to the more sensible levels we see now. In earlier days even many MCs like the Dynavector had compliance's above 25.