I agree totally with Richard (Palasr). It may not be coincidental that he and I are using the exact same setup---Galibier Gavia, Triplanar VII and Denon 103R.
The phono hierarchy should be table first, then arm, then cartridge. Part of my reason for saying this is just practical experience. Table upgrades have provided me with the most improvement in musical pleasure. A better arm can sound better, a better cartridge can sound better, but these are mostly hi-fi artifacts---detail and imaging for example. A table upgrade can change your whole listening paradigm. I have used 4 tonearms on my Galibier---the Triplanar, a Moerch DP-6, VPI JMW-10 and AQ PT-6. They all sound quite different, but frankly I could be quite happy with any of them...provided it was on the Galibier table. So I would always advise focusing your phono budget on the table provided you have enough left over for a decent arm and decent cartridge.
This doesn't mean that any $300 cartridge would be equally satisfying. The Denon is truly the overachieving cartridge of both this century and the last. I am amused to read so-called reviews of the Denon on e-zines that conclude it is "good for the money" but can't compete with a Benz Glider or what have you. Such a comment only reveals that the "reviewer" hasn't heard the Denon under optimal conditions, and in my experience that means a Triplanar arm. My feelings toward the Denon were only so-so with my other arms (VPI JMW-10, Moerch DP-6 and AQ PT-6), but the Denon took a huge step forward in the Triplanar. The Denon is not a universal cartridge like most budget carts. It is very particular about tonearms, it has a low output and needs to be loaded properly. But if you are prepared to treat it like a $3000 cartridge and spend some time (and money) to operate it under optimal conditions, then it can sound terrific by any standard.
