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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
madavid0 OP
214 posts
 
So researching what it takes to correctly align a cartridge — VTA, rake, tracking force, protractors, microscopes, listening tests, etc...let’s be real here. Are you guys who are proud of your dumpster recscues and vintage cartridges REALLY doing all of this? Or do you just sort of line things up by sight, fiddle a little, and call it good?

Do I seriously need this $500 protractor jig? Do I seriously need a microscope?
johnnyb43's avatar
johnnyb43
33 posts
 
I didn't bother reading the long back lash you probably got on this topic..I decided to get back into vinyl about 2 years ago. .demoed 4 turntables and finally settled on a clear audio concept with concept mc cartridge. .then the long painful journey for a good phono amp,settled on a rega aria. .really good for the money. .just recently wanted to up the game so I saved up the cash got a sweet deal on a vpi clasic 3. .what a difference. Then traded my hegel h360 for a rogers pa1a. .as far as cartridges go I agree it seems you have to sell a kidney to get a really nice cart..I bought a dynavector dv20x and find it to be a solid cart ,but I also picked up a sumiko pear wood celebration used and man I love that cartridge. .so much emotion.music doesn't sound colored just honest and natural. .I guess it's all a journey and I wish you the best of luck with yours. 
lewm
13,105 posts
 
Larry, Some speakers DO suck, obviously.  
Madavid, You don't HAVE to do a damn thing, if it irks you.  Among the rest of us, you will have launched yet another sidebar on what protractors are used, if any, how often one adjusts or checks adjustments, etc.  FWIW, you can download an excellent arc protractor off the internet for FREE, if you have a printer that can be set to print at a 1:1 scale.  There's no such thing as alignment "by sight".  That technique is called "misalignment".  And you certainly do not need a microscope, at all, ever.

It's obvious you are trolling, by the way.
tablejockey
3,915 posts
 
madavid0- the easiest way to enjoy turntable madness is to simply allow YOUR OWN EARS to dictate where your wallet follows.

You are  clearly not going to join the ranks of owners of $10K+users, and perhaps your system doesn't justify such extravagance.

Your threads just polarize and encourage tired,re-run debate.
Sticking with digital may be your path.

br3098
995 posts
 
I apologize for chiming in on this topic so late in the conversation.  IMO the phono cartridge is a major component in how a system sounds.  BUT, the cartridge must be compatible with the tonearm , step up transformer/phono stage and (to a much lesser degree) the turntable.  Finding the "right" combination of these components will make or break an analog system.

I have found that the biggest changes to the the sound of an audio system are driven from both ends in.  In an analog system that would be the first and second transducers.  So the order of how an individual component affects the end result (sound), from most to least.  Again, this is my opinion and YMMV:
1- speakers
2- Analog front end (cartridge, tonearm, phono stage and/or SUT, turntable)
3- Preamp
4- Digital front end
5- Speaker cables
6- Amp
7- I/O cables
8- Digital cables


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