Cartridges: Complete Scam?


I’m very new to analog, and researching my options on forums I keep coming across the same sentiment: that past the ultra low-end cartridges, there is very little gains in actual sound quality and that all you’re getting are different styles and colorations to the sound.

So, for example, if I swapped out my $200 cartridge that came with my table for a Soundsmith, Dynavector, Oracle, etc, I may notice a small improvement in detail and dynamics, but I’m mostly just going to get a different flavor. Multiple people told me they perffered thier old vintage cartridges over modern laser-cut boron-necked diamonds.

It’s possible that these people are just desperately defending thier old junk and/or have never heard high end audio. But if what they’re saying is true, than the cartridge industry is a giant SCAM. If I blow 2.5k minimum on an Air Tight I better get a significant improvement over a $200 bundler — and if just all amounts to a different coloration, than that is a straight-up scam ripoff.

So guys — are these forums just BS-ing me here? Is it really a giant scam?
madavid0
One issue might be that IF the geometry, you know, the vertical tracking angle, is not perfectly correct, if it’s off by 1/10 DEGREE, the distortion will be more than 100%. Without even getting into azimuth, overhang, etc. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that records do not all have the same thickness. Therefore, you guessed it! The sound will almost ALWAYS BE DISTORTED. Hel-loo!
Wow guys...wow. Allow me to sum up your replies:

randy-11: "It’s a scam"
stevecham: "It’s a scam"
knownothing: "Not a scam"
Inna: "It’s a scam"
nandric: "It’s a scam"
jmcgrogan2: "It’s a scam"
jperry: "It’s a scam"
geoffkait: "It’s a scam"

Yeah, you pretty much set your threads up to get no real discussion. Your threads are basically polemics disguised as questions, with the seeming intent to prove to us how smart you are.

It's having the opposite effect
Not asking anyone to agree with me — in fact I’m inviting disagreement. "Nah those guys are full of it there’s a big difference when you move up the line," could be one response. But instead I’m getting roundabout confirmations. Only one responder has denied it, albeit in a very noncommittal way.