Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ?

mulveling, you just seem to like cartridges more than the rest of analogue front end! And I like the table more than others.

It is not a mistake to think like I do - it is a different approach. And I follow it.

@atmasphere 

Thanks for the post, which is a good example of why I like this forum.  It's an excellent opportunity to learn more than just about the underlying audio issue.

Putting Ralph's # 1 at the center, how do you choose cartridge that your arm will track perfectly ? And we are talking about extremely expensive cartridges here, no margin for error unless you want to end up with BS.

how do you choose cartridge that your arm will track perfectly ?

@inna Good tonearms are a trick!

You'll want to use a calculator like this one.

A good arm will have absolutely no slop between the cartridge mount and the base of the arm. Its very hard to do this with a jeweled bearing since over-tightening such a bearing could result in damage.

The arm tube should be damped in some manner so it can't resonate while the cartridge is tracking.

Its helpful to have the arm bearings in the same plane as the vinyl so the tracking pressure is constant with warp and bass modulation.

The arm must be very adjustable so settings can be dialed in precisely.

Of course, I could not afford the setup that a 10K cartridge would require, but I have a question. What type of LP would be up to the task of producing such high quality sound? It seems to me that only the highest quality audiophile discs would justify such a cartridge. I don’t believe the run of the mill LP would benefit, but I may be wrong.