They are and you shouldn't spend much when you put a new cartridge on your Crosley
Cartridges: Complete Scam?
I’m very new to analog, and researching my options on forums I keep coming across the same sentiment: that past the ultra low-end cartridges, there is very little gains in actual sound quality and that all you’re getting are different styles and colorations to the sound.
So, for example, if I swapped out my $200 cartridge that came with my table for a Soundsmith, Dynavector, Oracle, etc, I may notice a small improvement in detail and dynamics, but I’m mostly just going to get a different flavor. Multiple people told me they perffered thier old vintage cartridges over modern laser-cut boron-necked diamonds.
It’s possible that these people are just desperately defending thier old junk and/or have never heard high end audio. But if what they’re saying is true, than the cartridge industry is a giant SCAM. If I blow 2.5k minimum on an Air Tight I better get a significant improvement over a $200 bundler — and if just all amounts to a different coloration, than that is a straight-up scam ripoff.
So guys — are these forums just BS-ing me here? Is it really a giant scam?
So, for example, if I swapped out my $200 cartridge that came with my table for a Soundsmith, Dynavector, Oracle, etc, I may notice a small improvement in detail and dynamics, but I’m mostly just going to get a different flavor. Multiple people told me they perffered thier old vintage cartridges over modern laser-cut boron-necked diamonds.
It’s possible that these people are just desperately defending thier old junk and/or have never heard high end audio. But if what they’re saying is true, than the cartridge industry is a giant SCAM. If I blow 2.5k minimum on an Air Tight I better get a significant improvement over a $200 bundler — and if just all amounts to a different coloration, than that is a straight-up scam ripoff.
So guys — are these forums just BS-ing me here? Is it really a giant scam?
Showing 4 responses by jperry
Apparently almost everyone agrees with you. With all of the positive threads you started it really is difficult to disagree. Cartridges: Complete Scam? Basis Turntables: Worth it or Ripoff? CD players = dead? Class D = Trash? Rega and ProAc: Bad? Anticables: Scam? |
I will give you an example and maybe this will become more clear to you. I had a Basis 2000 turntable with a Basis branded Rega tonearm and a Shelter 901 cartridge. I changed from the Rega (inexpensive) tonearm to a Basis Vector (expensive) tonearm and the difference was significant and noticeable particularly the imaging. Clearly the Rega tonearm was not allowing the Shelter cartridge to perform at its best. So an expensive cartridge may sound better than an inexpensive cartridge, even on a substandard turntable/tonearm combination, but it will not be able to perform at its best. FWIW I think using the words SUCKER and SCAM when you write leads to nothing positive when you are asking others to help you with information or explain something to you. |