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Honest question about cartridge vs. turntable performance.

I’ve been a vinyl lover for a few years now and I have an ortofon black cartridge setup with an mmf 5.1 turntable with acrylic platter and speed controller. My question to all the vinyl audiophiles out there is this. How much difference does a turntable really make compared to the cartridge? Will I hear a significant difference if I upgraded my turntable and kept the same cartridge? Isn’t the cartridge 90%+ of the sound from a vinyl setup? Thank you guys in advance for an honest discussion on this topic. 
tubelvr1
wolfie62
352 posts
 
I run a 43 year old DD table. Paid $45 for it 10 years ago. Cleaned and completely restored it. It’s competent in every way for speed, rumble, arm, suspension, etc.

Ive used a Decca Gold, Dynavector, various Ortofons, ATs, Shure, ADCs, Empires, Excels, Stanton’s,  Pickerings, Koetsu, and others. All the carts have a unique sound, and performed flawlessly.  The table and arm are not the limiting factors to great sound, as long as the table/arm are competent.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,791 posts
 
Competence in bearings and isolation is easy compared to changing one kind of energy into another....don’t shortchange the cartridge, and buy a rebuildable cartridge and it will be worth more than zero... Captain Kirk flunked math....
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,791 posts
 
Rega is a good choice but there are others see Brinkmann, Kuzma, AMG, etc for integrated packages, including tailored HRS isolation bases.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,791 posts
 
Funny when ole James Kirk can’t remember his own advice - look into Soundsmith.....
petg60
1,486 posts
 
Hi,
the better table will always give a more enjoyable sound, a beter cartridge will have a more refined sound of table's limitations.
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