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Relative Spending on Turntables and Cartridges

It seems conventional, at least at the low to mid-range of equipment, to spend much more for a turntable than for the cartridge. I'm wondering about the logic behind that. It seems to me that, once you've spent enough for a well-made turntable that with a good motor, sufficient weight and torque, and a solid tonearm that a cartridge upgrade is, relatively speaking, more valuable than a turntable upgrade. For example, I have a Rega P3 that typically comes with (in the package version) and Elys II cartridge. On mine, I know use a Rega Ania cartridge, which, as upgraded by SoundSmith, costs a bit more than the turntable. But the audible return on that investment has been enormous. I also have a Pioneer PLX-1000, which I initially used with a Sumiko Pearl cartridge. I've since upgraded, first, to a Hana EL, and subsequently to an Ortofon Quintet Bronze. Each upgrade improved sound quality (frequency response, transparency, detail, sound stage, etc.) dramatically. Perhaps I'm not getting everything out of the Bronze or the Ania that I would hear if I used them on higher-level turntables. But in terms of bang-for-the-buck, I've reached the conclusion that it is smarter to budget 50% each for cartridge and turntable than the prevailing norm of 75% for the turntable and only 25% for the cartridge (at least once your total budget reaches around $1000. Your thoughts?
dancole

Showing 4 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
With more money you get nothing if you don't know what you need or what you're looking for. This is knowledge and experience.  

You can get all you need for less money, not for more money. This is why people are buying classic tonearms and classic turntables instead of what a marketing team trying to sell you for 10 times higher price. 

  
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Prices means nothing, depends what you're buying. 
Once you got a nice turntable you can spend more on cartridges if you want (or can't stop). Turntable drive, plinth and tonearms normally cost more than a nice cartridge. But if you want to try a $3k cartridge on $2k turntable - why not (if you can afford it) ? Do you need an approval from somebody else ?   
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
But if you've got a budget of, say $1200, then you might be better off (in terms of your audio experience) spending $600 to $700 on the table and $500 to $600 on the cartridge than $1000 on the table and $200 on the cartridge (depending, of course, on table and cartridge you are getting for that money).

Sometimes you can buy a $3000 turntable for half price.

You can also find a good deal on cartridges if you want to pay less than retail prices.  

I don't understand how can you merit quality in numbers and where did you get your numbers from ? 

Consider used market and your numbers will be irrelevant. 

How can you be sure that more expensive is better for your ears ? For some people cheaper cartridges are better, I can argue about it too, but remember Denon 103 and its fan club ? It's $350 cartridge. I am not a fan of Denon 103, but you know how many people prefer that oldies over some very expensive cartridges? 

Once you have a good turntable like Denon DP-80 whichis th best buy in my opinion (for example) you don't have to change it each time you're buying expensive cartridge, there is no correlation between DP-80 price and any cartridge you can buy. Tonearm mucst be matched to your cartridge, not a turntable drive. 





chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
You can spend $50 000 on a turntable, but a $1500 Victor TT-101 recapped and calibrated for about $1500 extra by JP Jones is unbeatable at any price. You can read about TT-101, people who own multiple turntables and tonearms (including some very expensive) can confirm what I’m talking about. Check this link! Add tonearm and plinth (if you need any) and you’re done, total cost is about $5000-6000 with everything.

The problem is a lack of knowledge, so most people have no idea what is a reference turntable when they are referring to Rega and similar stuff.
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