Why do better MC cartridges cost a fortune?

@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.

Active isolation like the Herzan (or similar from many others including KSI who make Vibraplanes) offers 99% isolation in all six dimensions. Passive such as Vibraplane maxes out at 95% or so and more effective in vertical than horizontal. Also latter requires a compressor for air supply. Cost is 30-40% of active however and certainly will give great results, as will other passive approaches such as Minus-K, do note however that the latter need to be loaded as specified for best results whereas active platforms perform under any load. So, many ways to slay the isolation dragon 🐉 

Yeah, this could be interesting dilemma for some. If you have $10k to upgrade your analog front end and your table arm and phono seem just fine but cartridge and isolation could be better, what do you do? Do you spend it all on Herzan active, supercartridge or do 3/7 split and get Minus-K platform and another cartridge? And how can you know in advance? I suppose, you can return the platforms if bought from authorized dealers or directly, though. But not cartridges. The answer to this question is, I think, you have to develop 'audiophile instinct'. It will not always be right but in most cases it will.