No cartridge is good enough.

Inna:

But we are.

Remember what the purpose of the LP was in the first place. The distribution of music to the masses. That job, whether audiophiles like it or not, has passed to the digital domain. No one is talking about going back to LPs for mass distribution of music, just a blu-ray is not giving way to laser disc. If music was widely available at a real 24 bit/96K digital we would not be talking about LPs any longer.

And if ultimate sound quality is the real goal, then why not 1/2" tape at 30 ips?

As far as archive issues go, you don't need a laser system. A decent phono cartridge is just fine. How often does the Smithsonian play these archived records anyway?

Your premise (the thread's title) is faulty as is your logic about using a laser. A rock at the end of a stick is extremely effective at tracing the grooves on a semi-solid slab of processed decomposed organic matter.

Onhwy61, you could further show your enlightenment by starting a necrophilic thread. Best wishes.

Inna, modern cartridges do an excellent job of tracing vinyl grooves. Do you have an evidence that this is not true? If you use a laser based retrieval system you'll most likely digitize the audio signal, which as pointed out by someone else raises questions about why even bother starting with vinyl.

If you post a question you should at minimum be open to differing opinions.

I'm not sure 96K does it for me.