Why do better MC cartridges cost a fortune?

Though a side issue raised by willemj, it requires a response. Willem, you are entitled to your opinion regarding CD players vs. turntables, but you are ignoring one kind of important fact: an LP won't fit into a CD player's disc tray. I have a lot of music on LP, music I'm not going to through out even if CD players did sound better than LP players. Which they don't, by the way.

bdp24 +1!

Dave,
You are a big thinker.

I heard that too, that you can get at least some Japanese cartridges directly from Japan. Sometimes, even buying from the UK is less expensive. American prices on imports are often bloated because..you know why. Yes, $10k for a great cartridge that would last 20 years would be acceptable to me. Not the case.
As for the mystic surrounding this..to a degree maybe for some.
If you have great turntable, tonearm and phono stage, sure, you just get the cartridge you think will be best for this set-up and your taste. Still, the price appears to be disproportinally high for many. Bazaar economy laws of course apply, but this doesn't mean that the thing itself has such a high intrinsic value.

Anyway, Japanese and some others cartridge makers love audiophiles. And not just cartridge makers. They feed on obsession.
I heard that Accuphase costs half as much or so in Japan, don't know about Kondo Japan and Wavac. Americans can be funny too. How much is D'Agostino Momentum integrated? $35k or so? Do you really think that it sounds better than Gryphon Diablo 300 for $16k? I doubt it, but since I haven't heard either, I would be happy if someone who had commented. To be blunt - this hobby field is full of BS, but this doesn't mean that there is nothing but it.