@inna I might argue a $10k cartridge is a better investment than most other pieces of kit
consider you buy one and when you’ve got your 1000 hours or whatever in you retip/rebuild for $6k or get the same $4k discount off the new top of the line, many cartridge manufacturers also offer trade in for comparable cartridges from other lines
if you try the same whenever ARC upgrade their top of the line amps you’ll be out much more - the moment you plug a brand new amp or speaker in you’ve lost 20-30% of its value straight away
the one real downside of cartridges is that it’s really hard to get them reliably on the used market as they do wear so the cost of entry is high ... but once you’re on board it’s not such a problem
now if we really want to discuss the $10k burning a hole in your pocket I’d like to see you compare a $2k cartridge and a Herzan platform under your table with a $12k cartridge and no platform. I’d wager the former would outperform the latter ...
consider you buy one and when you’ve got your 1000 hours or whatever in you retip/rebuild for $6k or get the same $4k discount off the new top of the line, many cartridge manufacturers also offer trade in for comparable cartridges from other lines
if you try the same whenever ARC upgrade their top of the line amps you’ll be out much more - the moment you plug a brand new amp or speaker in you’ve lost 20-30% of its value straight away
the one real downside of cartridges is that it’s really hard to get them reliably on the used market as they do wear so the cost of entry is high ... but once you’re on board it’s not such a problem
now if we really want to discuss the $10k burning a hole in your pocket I’d like to see you compare a $2k cartridge and a Herzan platform under your table with a $12k cartridge and no platform. I’d wager the former would outperform the latter ...