Is Your Cartridge Worth More Than Your Turntable?
- Thread starter Meloski
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Meloski
Active Member
What I paid for each.
It has been a while since I priced a 1200 so I guess my cart is about half. My bad.
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tyeeslayer
Super Member
Not any more. Just upgraded my TT, now tis the other way around.
AvFan
Super Member
My cartridges are worth more than my turntables. While every link in the audio chain is important, not all are created equal. I continue to follow the audio advice I got long ago and that was to spend the majority of my money on speakers and cartridges. I spent the most on my speakers.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
turntable is less than tonearm which is way less than cartridge. so Yes. TT is less than cartridge.
Just like the other end of the system. The transducers are the more expensive because they are the most critical to the sound of the system.
Just like the other end of the system. The transducers are the more expensive because they are the most critical to the sound of the system.
From my limited experienced, I'm confident that cartridges are more important than the table, but I struggle to spend too much on a cartridge, because they're consumables. My table should last forever, but my stylus will only last me 2000 hours
While a stylus has a limited life, the cartridge body can last indefinitely. The more expensive the cartridge the larger the percentage of that cost is the cartridge body.
^^^ Believe it!
Mister Pig
Pigamus Maximus
On one of my tables hte cartridge is worth the table and arm sells for. So that one is a push. On the other tables I own, the cartridge costs less than what the arm and table would sell for. But that does not mean they are compromised or limited cartridges.
I tend to agree with the Linn philosophy of the importance of analog bits and pieces. Which goes turntable first, then arm, finally cartridge. The turntable is th foundation, and if it does not control resonances, spin a record at the proper speed, have a quiet bearing, and good isolation, then the the job of the arm, and by extension the job of the cartridge is compromised. Then the arm is next, for if it does not control the energy created by the cartridge tracing the groove, then the cartridge cannot do its job. Once those two criteria are met, then the cartridges contributions can be considered. Now the cartridge has more personality and may have a more noticeable contribution to the overall "sound" of the analog system, but it needs those other factors to be right before it can sound its best. While we are at it the phono stage is important, but it is dependent on the needs of the cartridge, so it cannot be selected or evaluated until the cartridge is right also.
But for me, spending a ton of money on a great cartridge and putting it on a limited turntabvle is a poor way to build an analog system.
Regards
Mister Pig
I tend to agree with the Linn philosophy of the importance of analog bits and pieces. Which goes turntable first, then arm, finally cartridge. The turntable is th foundation, and if it does not control resonances, spin a record at the proper speed, have a quiet bearing, and good isolation, then the the job of the arm, and by extension the job of the cartridge is compromised. Then the arm is next, for if it does not control the energy created by the cartridge tracing the groove, then the cartridge cannot do its job. Once those two criteria are met, then the cartridges contributions can be considered. Now the cartridge has more personality and may have a more noticeable contribution to the overall "sound" of the analog system, but it needs those other factors to be right before it can sound its best. While we are at it the phono stage is important, but it is dependent on the needs of the cartridge, so it cannot be selected or evaluated until the cartridge is right also.
But for me, spending a ton of money on a great cartridge and putting it on a limited turntabvle is a poor way to build an analog system.
Regards
Mister Pig
PooreBoy
Active Member
Don't worry. Once you reach a $15K table, you can't buy a cartridge that costs more than your table!
Wanna bet??? This one costs as much...
And I'm sure that somewhere there is an even more expensive cartridge.http://www.needledoctor.com/Clearaudio-Goldfinger-Statement-Phono-Cartridge?sc=2&category=270
A stylus should last far beyond 2000 hours if it was a good one to start with. A good MC with good records that are clean will go past 4000 hours. That sould be many years of service, many years of your life which is a consumable also.
You could have a $150 MC or a $2000 one and a retip will cost about the same @ $300. So for many years of your life listening to better SQ and the consumable is $300 is well worth it to me.
Quoted for truth:thmbsp:
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savatage1973
Addicted Member
I guess it depends on how you figure it out. All of the tables I have owned/currently own I have bought as "complete" units w/tonearm, headshell, dustcover and some sort of functioning cart, so I guess you might have to deduct the value of some of those items from the actual price I paid for the "complete" table.
But overall, what I paid for my new carts vs what I paid for my used tables are about on par, probably leaning toward more money on the carts.
But overall, what I paid for my new carts vs what I paid for my used tables are about on par, probably leaning toward more money on the carts.
melofelo
Addicted Member
600 - 800 hours is about as far as I'll trust a well aligned elliptical with my records..:scratch2:
As for the cartridge cost relative to turntable cost equation...
I think the older British magazine recommendation had it spot on when they suggested that you keep cartridge cost at about 5- 10% of your total front end's cost..until you're hovering around Manticore Mantra, Heybrook, 'Upper' Thorens, 'Upper' Ariston, Linn Sondek , Roksan territory...
This general guideline in building an Analogue front end you can enjoy for years without major upgrades was of course was based on *as New* prices
It's a different market now that second hand turntables can be so easily sourced, but the principle still holds water if you simply factor in the quality of a turntables moving parts (main bearing, tonearm pivot bearing, isolation , suspension , motor , drive system etc ) against the quality of the cartridge you're hoping to hear at its best...(and hopefully un-compromised by any lapses in quality in the turntable itself.)
I am still inclined to think, after many years of tinkering with turntables, that venturing much above a budget benchmark like the AT-95E, AT-110E, Ortofon OM-10 , OM-20 , Goldring 1012 or any modern equivalent in terms of performance, really requires a tonearm of *at least* the same quality as a Linn Akito, Linn Basik , Rega RB250/300 or Jelco equivalent to enable the cartridge's sonic potential to be assessed fairly honestly.
This probably applies as much to budget elliptical cartridges as it does to the more expensive mm or mc transducers but..as always experimentation and auditioning using your own ears is often the best way to decide which route suits you...and your wallet :thmbsp:
As for the cartridge cost relative to turntable cost equation...
I think the older British magazine recommendation had it spot on when they suggested that you keep cartridge cost at about 5- 10% of your total front end's cost..until you're hovering around Manticore Mantra, Heybrook, 'Upper' Thorens, 'Upper' Ariston, Linn Sondek , Roksan territory...
This general guideline in building an Analogue front end you can enjoy for years without major upgrades was of course was based on *as New* prices
It's a different market now that second hand turntables can be so easily sourced, but the principle still holds water if you simply factor in the quality of a turntables moving parts (main bearing, tonearm pivot bearing, isolation , suspension , motor , drive system etc ) against the quality of the cartridge you're hoping to hear at its best...(and hopefully un-compromised by any lapses in quality in the turntable itself.)
I am still inclined to think, after many years of tinkering with turntables, that venturing much above a budget benchmark like the AT-95E, AT-110E, Ortofon OM-10 , OM-20 , Goldring 1012 or any modern equivalent in terms of performance, really requires a tonearm of *at least* the same quality as a Linn Akito, Linn Basik , Rega RB250/300 or Jelco equivalent to enable the cartridge's sonic potential to be assessed fairly honestly.
This probably applies as much to budget elliptical cartridges as it does to the more expensive mm or mc transducers but..as always experimentation and auditioning using your own ears is often the best way to decide which route suits you...and your wallet :thmbsp:
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