Cartridges: Complete Scam?

Saying “an expensive cartridge sounds great in an expensive system” isn’t answering the question, it’s simply punting it into the realm where the premise can’t be easily tested. In fact I do go to audio shows, most recently Capital Audiofest which was dominated by vinyl systems. I ended up buying a MoFi StudioDeck based on the performance of the MoFi room there that was running a $2k table + cartridge bundle. My StudioDeck is a $1,150 bundle with a $200 Studio Tracker cartridge. Here’s the thing: the MoFi room was also running TAD Evolution Ones and high end electronics, so OF COURSE it was going to sound good...I was impressed with such a “modest” front end was up to it though. The question is: would moving up from its $500 MM to, say, a $4K MC result in a significant sonic improvement...or not? Likewise, would moving up from my $200 cartridge to, say, a $2k range cartridge result in a significant improvement in sound?

There seems to be a strong sentiment online that NO, there wouldn’t be a large improvement. The sound may change, but not improve by any significant amount. If that’s true, that seems to suggest that the high-end cartridge industry is just peddling woo to vulnerable audiophiles.

OP- you got a lot of sarcastic responses to your original post, which many interpreted as trolling. Assuming that is not the case, then the answer is "It depends". It depends on the resolution of the rest of your system and how carefully it is set up. And then of course there is your own hearing and your own values. So properly set-up, on a properly matched arm of commensurate quality, on table of similar quality, with proper interconnects, fed into a good phono/ line stage and an appropriate amplifier properly matched to high resolution speakers, most people can "hear" the difference between a $200 bundled cartridge and a $2000 cartridge. OTOH, if you are dropping that $2K cart into an entry level TT with a $200 phono stage, you probably will not hear much difference. If you put top of the line tires on a Chevy Malibu, it’s not going make significantly better lap times on a race course. And yes, at the highest end we are talking different flavors of excellence. Maybe even the subtle distinctions between sirloin and rib-eye to make another analogy. Or between two different vintages of wine from the same vineyard. Some folks are happy with very good or even excellent, some folks want superb! It is also true that the law of diminishing returns is very strict at the bleeding edge. And that there are folks who automatically assume if it costs more, it’s better. T’aint so ;-)

If you are considering how to upgrade your analog front end, and you provide some additional info (primarily your phono/line stage, and amplifier) and what your budget is, you will get some good advice.  For example, the Denon 103R is considered by many to be in the sweet spot of moderately priced phono cartridges. It costs under $400.00.  But you have to have a phono stage with enough gain to handle a low output moving coil cartridge, or you have to buy a step-up transformer or head-amp to bring the 0.25 mV output up to the level that a typical phono stage can properly amplify. 

"Peddling woo to vulnerable audiophiles"

I'm touched by your concern for our sensitive selves, and presumably our pocketbooks. Be assured however that those of us that take the time to listen to a lot of cartridges and put our $ where we want can hear very substantial differences between different manufacturer's offerings and different points in the line

As others have pointed out to get the most from any cartridge setup and matching is absolutely critical and if you are going to spend four figures or up on a cartridge then you owe it to yourself to know how to set it up, and to invest in the tools for that purpose.

So I'm not at all sure where your strong online sentiment is coming from -- presumably from those who have never had the chance to spend a substantial amount of time with one of these transducers in their own system with commensurate ancillaries

For your delectation I leave you with the following link -- a review of a $12,000 dedicated mono cartridge, and personally I can believe it's worth it ... makes my $2K mono feel jealous
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/grado-epoch-mono-cartridge/

As prices go up, it is almost always diminishing returns at best. You tend to get more bling factor and maybe more muscle in some cases for more $$$s but the bling factor of a phono cartridge is, well, pretty low.

The dl103R I use in my Linn table is about as far as I would likely go. I mostly play records once these days to transfer to music server and that is it. CDs get ripped right up front and never get played anymore.

Those with pricier, good quality tables who still strongly embrace vinyl still are likely to look around at the more expensive parts to go with it. Some might even drop $150 on a fuse whose only sales pitch is that it just sounds better for reasons unknown. It all depends on budget and how extreme one is with these things.

Like most things, those who actually know what they are doing are most likely to get the better results in the end regardless of cost and optimizing playback of vinyl is about as tricky a game as there is. Its still a science first and an art second though.

When one first picks up an acoustic guitar, they would probably be hard pressed to identify much of a difference between a vintage Martin and a piece-of-garbage Esteban. (remember him?)  But with time and development, one may become aware of the differences between instruments.  Such is the case with audio.  Then again, you may never hear a difference, in which case buying an expensive cartridge is silly.  That's why they make cheap guitars, cheap pianos and cheap cartridges.  Yes - more expensive does not always mean better.   But unfortunately, in my experience, it often does.