A pragmatic view of cartridge expenses / many questions

The ''loose reference''. I was nearly lynched when I asked the
question: ''are you sure that retips by Ledermann are done
by Ledermann''? I think that I am even more entitled to ask
the uquestion : ''are you sure that Van den Hul is Van den Hul"?
To my knowledge he produces just one single cart per week.
Just to keep his skills in order. He spend more time in Ukraine
selling to their aircraft indutry his wires. Then one can see
unusual many Van den Hul carts one second hand market. 
As is, I hope , known people do not separte easilly from their
best carts. Nobody knows how many employee both ''masters'' 
have, What do you think those are for? 
Raul, I understand passion and love but not ''blind love''. 

I think cactus spine is a wonderful idea. It's a tapered tube (or is it a rod?) and so is inherently anti-resonant. It's been shaped for rigidity and strength by evolution. And it's recommended by Schroeder and Lederman, who has done extensive testing. If I had the extra loot, I'd do it.

@rauliruegas 

“I said that because the vdH cartridges are not " hyper analytical " especially the wood body models and with higher output level as the model you have.
 vdH are different than the Sussurro ( that I already listened. I don't listen the Sussaro you named. ) but never anlytical and " hiper " is out of question. Something is not rigth in your whole set up.”

Again, that’s your subjective opinion, not mine, which is objective...I am the one hearing it in my system and that’s the way it sounds to me. Not properly  setup...please! You don’t know me and my audio setup skills, and that’s a totally subjective opinion as well.  After setting up a least few dozen cartridges one gets used to the initial sound impressions. You should know that based on your vast MM listening experiences. To understand what I meant previously, you need to read what I stated...I am experimenting with a used Crimson and evaluating different loading options as part of that experiment. And my initial thoughts are that it is hyper analytical compared to my Sussaro MKII. Next, I will try some other settings to either validate or invalidate my impressions. I will also compare the Crimson to my Benz LPS to see what the differences are between those two. Adjusting for loading, Gain VTA, anti skate, overhang, VTF, are easy to me so I don’t have a problem swapping cartridges. 

But, back to the subject at hand, the cost performance ratio is all over the place, and quantifying a cartridge purchase with audio listening pleasure verses operating costs, is really individually rationalized by each of us in some way. I would say that as we gain more experiences and learn the intricacies of our own system and listening habits, it’s easy to formulate an opinion on what’s important, no matter the costs. Whether a low or high priced cartridge, some sort of rationalization must have been made to decide on the acquisition. Of course, and I am guilty of this as well, sometimes you say what the heck and splurge without second thought, which may be perceived as irrational behavior...it’s a hobby, enjoy while you can. Even if your told your setup is wrong! 

Please consider ultra-sonic record cleaning before you buy something really big. Not only does it improve the quality of the sound, but it improves the longevity of the cartridge.

I have a Clearaudio Double Matrix for cleaning purposes. I am looking at getting an ultrasonic cleaner to augment my cleaning regiment. 8,000 plus records and counting....always will have a mechanical cleaner for sure.