Honest question about cartridge vs. turntable performance.

Our Opinion on Component SignificanceComponentPerformance Significance:
23%Turntable
17%Tonearm
5%Cartridge
25%Phono Stage
15%Amplifiers
15%Speakers

Spending only 15% of your budget on speakers is almost certainly going to set you up for disappointment!  In reality, one must spend WHATEVER it takes on the speakers (and possibly sub-bass) to get a great sound in the room irrespective of source.  Without that, you are just wasting your money on improvements that you can't hear and/or certainly can't fully realize.    

If I were selling like PS audio:
Instead for:

Our Opinion on Component SignificanceComponentPerformance Significance:
23%Turntable
17%Tonearm
5%Cartridge
25%Phono Stage
15%Amplifiers
15%Speakers

As a another example PS Audio should maybe say something like this:

Our Opinion on Component Significance Component Performance Significance:
5%Turntable
5%Tonearm
5%Cartridge
25%Phono Stage (PS Audio sells stellar phono)
25%Amplifiers (PS Audio core business)
35%Speakers (to boost the chance when ps Audio release their long awaited speaker line)

That seems reasonable if looking from the point of what the specific company are offering and selling..

And not from the best sound for the money from a consumer perspective..

This is absolutely pointless thread and these % calculation is nonsense.

How can it help someone ?

If you want a decent analog system you need a great cartridge, tonearm, turntable, phono stage, amps, speakers ...

You have hundreds of different alternatives for each component and everyone has personal preferences, every room is different.

5% or 10% what are you talking about ???

Hey Chakster - it's just guidelines for percentage spend on a moderate system by component area (up to maybe $15-20K) . They also forgot the cables/conditioner which could eat up 10% ($1500-2000).

The point is that if the source produces garbage, I don't care what kind of amp and speakers you have, it will sound like crap. Once the source gets to a  certain quality level, the amp and speakers can make a bigger difference. 

Of course everything matters, but the OP is looking for the best sound improvement for the buck, which we all are.

Ralph, I was saying that tongue in cheek. The Japenese made much better stuff than Campy for a while. They had to drag Campy out of the stone age. Camply could never catch up in mountain bike gear but in the mid 90's campy finally got serious again. I use it because I prefer ergo shifting levers, more intuitive, the EPS gear is better than Shimano DI2 and the disc brakes are seriously better. 
The Rohloff hubs are very cool but heavy. I have a Merlin Extra Light and for certain I think Ti bikes ride better than most carbon frames. The reason I got the Specialized is because it has a shock absorber in the head tube and it will take 42 mm Tubeless tires. I have an artificial wrist and I have to do everything to protect it. The Specialized Diverge is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden but other than the shock absorber it is not due to the frame but to the Fulcrum carbon rims and the 32 mm tubeless tires. If I could put those tires on the Merlin I think it would ride even better but it is limited to 25 mm tires. 
The wife and I rode Tripole Rd last weekend to celebrate our 32nd aniversary (White Mountains, NH.) 6 miles with an average grade of 10%! We made it to the top without putting a foot down:)
I'm not sure I'm crazy about Lewm's analogy but overall I think he is right. The cartridge and tonearm act as a unit apart from the turntable. He is also right concerning noise and resonance. The Dohmann Helix takes all of this into account. I do beleive it is the quietest Turntable you can purchase today and hopefully I will be able to afford one before he goes out of business. I do believe the noise and resonance affect the sound more so than wow and flutter in most turntables. I do not think it is taken seriously by the establishment because it is impossible to measure. But, this is the reason I have always prefered suspended turntables. Even on a concrete slab there is loads of garbage that can make it's way to the cartridge by way of the turntable's feet. I'm afraid most of them are hopelessly inadequate. The SME 30 series is an excellent example of a quiet turntable. 
Tubelvr1, I think you be best served by spending the 2k on a nice cartridge. I do not beleive it would make a significant improvement on your turntable, tonearm or Phono amp. Tackle them when you have more money to spend.