Why do better MC cartridges cost a fortune?

Yeah, probably, that's why I said "generally speaking", this would be possible guidelines.
In any case, I hope that this thread will help some people avoid big and costly mistakes, including the mistakes they might never be aware of because the system will sound better and yet..

Looking at all this from a different angle, sometimes you want to upgrade, have a specific amount for this and start thinking what exactly you could upgrade. So it might turn out to be a very expensive cartridge because you can’t upgrade turntable or phono or amps or even cables. It is actually my own current situation. I do $1k upgrade a year, usually just one item, sometimes two. But I have only two more steps for this - one more interconnect and one more power cord. After that I will probably have to switch to 2-3 years cycle unless I am very lucky. And I see no reason to get $1k cartridge, though my phono would still  more or less hold its own. I will wait.

@inna-I wasn’t really looking to upgrade cartridges, my comment was simply that the cost of replacing the high end ones was starting to get ridiculous, but as mentioned, I’ve never tried a retip on any of these.

if I were to upgrade anything, it would probably be a wholesale replacement of my horn/woofer array. I like the fact that my Avantgarde mid-horn has no Xover. But we’re talking considerable money, and one possibility would involve buying another pair of Lamms, to bi-amp (which would actually be the least of it). I use the old ML2, which is different than the later ones in some respects, but like it very much.
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I’ve gotten to the point that I’m past looking for nirvana- my system is pretty dialed in, I went to some lengths to get good electrical power here and I’d rather spend the money on records at this point.
My priorities are to finish the vintage Quad ESL based system and add a digital rig for access to more music. For example, this is an LP that I could not justify:[url]https//www.discogs.com/Leaf-Hound-Growers-Of-Mushroom/release/2625594[/url]
On the other hand, there was an older legitimate CD release that was normally priced.

I did invest in an anti-vibration platform- a large Minus K- when I moved here given structural issues involved in mounting 231 lbs worth of turntable on the second floor of an 1880’s wooden house. It is passive, unlike the Herzan, but it does the job.

@willemj - I’ll need to ask D Karmeli what he does with the old cartridges. I know he has a vast collection that he uses, including Neumann (which is a somewhat unconventional, rare cartridge) and Ortofon SPU (which I believe has the step up built into the headshell).

Now that's the price of a record !
Yeah, electrical power is a never ending struggle. Here, in addition to a very dirty current, voltage fluctuates from 115 to 128. PS Audio Premier does stabilize it and cleans it pretty good, but if it is too bad it spends a lot of energy on itself and the dynamics gets compromized. Still incomparably better than without it. Power cords from the wall to the regenerator make a difference, by the way.
Unpgrading your amps/speakers set-up would be a huge undertaking, that would probably take the entire system to the ultimate level.

Herzan looks serious. Swiss things. How do they compare to Vibroplanes?