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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?
madavid0
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
According to my mom I was not only the most handsome but
also the most smart kid in the whole world. Well our carts are
our babe's. But we all know the difference between objective
and subjectieve part of the game. So in order to give objective appearance to our subjective preferences we use technical arguments and talk about materials , styli shapes, exotic cantilevers and even exotic magnets.
Sometime the expression '''art''  was used instead but never elaborated. I would say ''painting '' is available to everyone but there is only one Michelangelo, etc. Consider the following list: Sugano, Takeda , Ikeda, Van den Hul, Allaerts , Andreoli (Magic Diamond),      Carr and Lukatschek (Benz).                                                                 I think that chakster mentioned in one of his latest post the ''case''       ''Fuuga''. The whole group of Takeda admirers who wanted to    
''copy'' his Miyabi standard. This was ,alas, not possible so they produced their own ''Fuuga'' asking + $ 8000 for their ''baby''.              There is this, uh, biological fact about man. They seem to want            to produce as many kids as they can. So among my babies
  there are Ikeda's, Takeda's , Andreoli's , Allaerts , Lukatschek           and Sugano. 

    





























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jperry
2,430 posts
 
They are and you shouldn't spend much when you put a new cartridge on your Crosley
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
One issue might be that IF the geometry, you know, the vertical tracking angle, is not perfectly correct, if it’s off by 1/10 DEGREE, the distortion will be more than 100%. Without even getting into azimuth, overhang, etc. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that records do not all have the same thickness. Therefore, you guessed it! The sound will almost ALWAYS BE DISTORTED. Hel-loo!
madavid0 OP
214 posts
 
Wow guys...wow. Allow me to sum up your replies:

randy-11: "It’s a scam"
stevecham: "It’s a scam"
knownothing: "Not a scam"
Inna: "It’s a scam"
nandric: "It’s a scam"
jmcgrogan2: "It’s a scam"
jperry: "It’s a scam"
geoffkait: "It’s a scam"

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