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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
lewm
13,174 posts
 
I took the air out of my own analogy.  The last sentence: "The cartridge and the tonearm are doing two entirely different things" should have read, "The cartridge and the TURNTABLE are doing two entirely different things", one in the signal voltage domain and the other in the time domain.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,861 posts
 
Atma-Sphere, I will never ride a bike with anything but Campy on it. That Jap stuff is cheap overweight crap. It only worked better if you did not know how to shift.
My current bike is a Specialized S works Diverge with Campy Super Record 12 speed EPS disc brake group. Fulcrum Carbon tubeless rims with Hutchinson Sector 32 tires. Perfect bike for an old fart with bad wrists:)
@mijostyn

Back in the 70s Campy was heavier, shifted slower and less precisely than the alloy SunTour stuff.

I got rid of derailleurs years ago- I have a custom Reynolds 953 and a Ti frame both equipped with Rohloff hubs. The Ti frame is a Jones and despite no suspension, is the most comfortable bike I've ridden.
tuberollin
42 posts
 
You can always count on @millercarbon for a cryptic, meaningless statement with no real information.
Got to keep the post count up.
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
Calculate how much your phono stage, head amp stage, arm, table, isolasters, and cartridge, etc. cost.  When you spend that on a CD player, your opinion matters.  For a good comparison, check our Sheffield's D to D LP's and the CD's of the recording sessionsthat followed years later. I have Thelma Houston, Pressure Cooker.  I am not a fan of the music, but the comparison is worth the price of admission.
jperry
2,453 posts
 
Your point is?

danvignau513 posts08-21-2020 11:56amCalculate how much your phono stage, head amp stage, arm, table, isolasters, and cartridge, etc. cost. When you spend that on a CD player, your opinion matters. For a good comparison, check our Sheffield's D to D LP's and the CD's of the recording sessionsthat followed years later. I have Thelma Houston, Pressure Cooker. I am not a fan of the music, but the comparison is worth the price of admission.
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