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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
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.
hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello,
If you are happy with the sound then the juice was worth the squeeze. Please stop there improving the Rega P3. If you feel you need more then buy the P6 with the regular MM cart, swap carts with your P3 and sell your P3. So many people have spent a lot of Money turning the P3 into the P6 only coming up short because the plinth is better on the P6. It’s like spending $70,000 on your Honda Civic to turn it into a Porsche. Sell the civic and go buy the Porsche. Once you buy the P6 you will be able to stop especially if you put the MC cart you have on it. 
terry9
2,354 posts
 
What do you get with more money?

Turntable: less bearing noise, less motor noise. Blacker background. Better dynamics.

Tonearm: better registration of the cartridge to the record. Ability to adjust cartridge for optimal performance and keep it that way.

Cartridge: the POTENTIAL to produce good to great sound IF and ONLY IF the above have already been done.

Set-up is the great leveller. A decent rig, well set up, will compete with a badly set up SOTA. I would spend the money on set-up books and tools, and money left over on record cleaning. A side benefit to record cleaning is that the stylus lasts longer. After 1000 hours, my higher end Koetsu shows minimal wear, probably because I clean with ultrasonics.
sandthemall
544 posts
 
I think the 70/30 conventions are just guidelines for how much to spend on a cartridge if you already have a TT.

If you have neither...then I'd spend WAY more money on the turntable...because that will be, for most situations, the constant. You can upgrade the cartridge later.

But as many have said...it's up to you.

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. 

  
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