How good does a TT have to be for a good cartridge


I have often wondered would you get good sound from a really good cartridge on a decent but not super good table. I am not an analog fanatic. I do own two fairly basic modern tables. One is a plain VPI Scout and the other a Music Hall MMF 5. Could I expect great sound from either one with a very high caliber cartridge that might cost lets say $3-5K . Is this an example of not being able to put lipstick on a pig?
mechans
One thing I discovered recently that suprised me was how much difference a tonearm makes. I have a Basis 2000 turntable that came with a Basis modified Rega arm.

I recently replaced the Rega arm with a Basis Vector 3 arm and the improvement was stunning. No looking for small changes or careful listening involved at all. It was so much better in every way it was almost impossible to believe.

My advice is to upgrade to the best drop in arm you can afford. With that table I assume it will be a Rega type or a Jelco.
$4000 Benz on a $200 Well Tempered turntable rebuild. I believe everything matters in audio. As such, you're obviously not going to get the best from a high dollar cartridge but you'll most likely get everything a cheap turntable has to offer.
A Rega RP3 (bone stock) owner that posts here is using a Lyra Delos with great results.
The guys defending the 10x5 are right, it is better than the negative comments would have you believe. The guys saying get a better tonearm are also right. The tonearm is extremely important, maybe more important than the turntable or cartridge (as long as the latter 2 are not horrible). Unfortunately, all but a small handful of tonearms are really flawed.