When to change a cartridge?

@audio-b-dog - I spent very little money, especially compared to what my vinyl front end involves. Given my considerable pile of records, some quite rare and never issued beyond a first pressing on vinyl, as well as a large catalog of material I accumulated (I think I've mentioned I got rid of over 12,000 records between the move to Texas and a further culling once here), I'm not walking away from records. But the combo I described, which involves playing off a drive through a DDC using the I2s connection has really upped the quality considerably and none of the gear itself was expensive.

@inna - I had ARC stuff for decades but didn't need the power. For a while I used an unusual amp, the Audiopax 88, and I did meet with Kevin at one show (I don't do shows much anymore) and at the time I bought the Lamms, I only knew CAT for its preamp. The Lamms were magical and I also had the L2 line stage, a two chassis model with a solid state audio path and tube rectified power supply. When the manufacturer of Veloce came over, I passed on the first version, but loved the second version. Unfortunately, it uses the 6H30 and in its circuit, the old DR Reflector is substantially better than the modern production. My amps are very early and came through a trade from someone who was possibly Vlad's first dealer. 

I doubt I'll ever get rid of them. And Vytas, who designed the Veloce, is still  very much active. He worked as a technical director for OMA for a period but am informed that he has upgrades for the Veloce line stages. I just hate shipping gear. In NY metro, it was much easier b/c we could drive to several of the manufacturers for repair/check up. 

Bill,

I see. I think, most Lamm owners keep them forever unless they upgrade to even better Lamm.

whart, 12,000 is a whole heaping lot of records! I can understand why you thinned them out.  I have about a tenth that many, and that's a lot. Like most people, I will go back to certain records many times before I play a more obscure record. Some will never get played again. I think I played them all at least once when I first acquired them. 

The more I think about it, my Moon 280D doesn't really sound "digital" to me, unless you mean by "digital" smoothing off rough edges. For example, I have a vinyl set of Starker playing the Bach Cello Suites and he attacks the strings with an aggressiveness that can be heard on analogue. On digital the vibration of the bow against the strings is not so "there."

On certain digital recordings with a very high sampling rate, digital recordings are almost like analogue. And, of course, not every analogue recording is great. Some are tinny and compressed. But with the best of both worlds, a very good digital recording at a high sampling rate and a very good analogue recording are extremely close even with my relatively inexpensive Moon 280D.

I think in order to be significantly better than the Moon, a digital front end would have to cost significantly more. I was running my computer into a Chord Qutest DAC, and when I compared it to my Moon 280D, the Qutest sounded much darker and less lively. I loved the Qutest when I first heard it, but I think having all the parts in one integrated box reduces jitter. And I'm guessing a DDC might have helped the Qutest.

But I play analogue and digital for different reasons. I write sitting in front of my Sonus Faber speakers. I play records while writing for a number of reasons. To my ear they sound better, but also having to turn them over forces me to get up every 20 to 30 minutes. Sitting too long is not good for my old body. In the afternoons when I am reading or writing things like this post, I play digital. I like exploring new recordings and new artists. I am listening to Dvorak's 7th Symphony which I also have on record, but this version is with Dudamel conducting. 

In the end, as I think you suggested earlier, what matters most is having and fulfilling the interest in music. It's a very important part of my life. And I've enjoyed listening to recordings from my first Sears Silvertone portable stereo in college, through so many different pieces of gear I can't remember them all. The only constant is that I have continued to expend more $ as I have earned more money and my wife allows. Pretty standard, I'm sure.

Starker-Kodaly- that Unaccompanied Cello piece- stunning. It was on Period Records, mono, from the '50s. I know it has been reissued several times. You might like it. 

Thank you. I'll look for it on Quobuz and/or Tidal. I'm testing them one against the other to see which one I want to keep.