Relative Spending on Turntables and Cartridges

I'm just wondering why the convention is to spend only 70% of a budget on a table and only 30% on a cartridge.

Conventional wisdom is really nothing more than stuff that’s been repeated enough so it becomes like a reflex. People tend to repeat what they hear without ever really giving it much analysis. Here we are 20 years after DBA, still everyone talking about "a" sub when everyone by now should know the key is several. Many still say put some huge amount in the speakers, which if forced to explain all they come up with is basically well that’s what makes the sound, right? Cartridge is sort of like that.
Its not that you’re not right. Everything you’re saying is just fine. Only thing missing is you haven’t experienced a really good turntable. When you do it will be like, "aha!" All the same stuff you get from a better cartridge. Well not quite all the same. But very similar. Even just the arm. Could be the same table. Put a better arm on it. Boom- huge improvement in extension, dynamics, detail. Just like when you buy a better cartridge.

I’ve done all this stuff. Upgraded just the motor, everything else exactly the same. Upgraded just the turntable. Same motor, same arm, cart, everything. Upgraded just the arm- same table, motor, cart. In fact I’ve upgraded the motor a couple times. Twice with the same motor, just upgraded the motor drive controller. Actually now that I think about it there was one upgrade just to battery power for the motor. One time it was just the bearing.

You get the idea. Where most know only what happens when they change the table- by which they mean the plinth, arm, motor, everything except for the cartridge- I have experience changing every tiny little part of it, one piece at a time. Right down to the bearing and thrust plate inside the bearing well.

Point being not to say you’re wrong. Way you’re looking at it is just fine for where you are right now. Just want to let you know, its nowhere near so simple. Every single tiny little thing is just as important as the cartridge.

Including what its sitting on... what its connected to... we haven’t even touched on the phono stage....

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367

Sounds great but its 100% not true.

But if you've got a budget of, say $1200, then you might be better off (in terms of your audio experience) spending $600 to $700 on the table and $500 to $600 on the cartridge than $1000 on the table and $200 on the cartridge (depending, of course, on table and cartridge you are getting for that money).

Sometimes you can buy a $3000 turntable for half price.

You can also find a good deal on cartridges if you want to pay less than retail prices.  

I don't understand how can you merit quality in numbers and where did you get your numbers from ? 

Consider used market and your numbers will be irrelevant. 

How can you be sure that more expensive is better for your ears ? For some people cheaper cartridges are better, I can argue about it too, but remember Denon 103 and its fan club ? It's $350 cartridge. I am not a fan of Denon 103, but you know how many people prefer that oldies over some very expensive cartridges? 

Once you have a good turntable like Denon DP-80 whichis th best buy in my opinion (for example) you don't have to change it each time you're buying expensive cartridge, there is no correlation between DP-80 price and any cartridge you can buy. Tonearm mucst be matched to your cartridge, not a turntable drive. 

There is some good advice here, and your observations about a better cartridge sounding better in your turntables is correct.

I only want to point out, that until you have have heard the same cartridge in an excellent well matched tonearm, you won't really know the capabilities of the cartridge, or understand the limitations of your current tonearm.

I know this through personal experience having owned a Rega 250, Rega 600, and Origin Live OL-1 (Rega based tonearm). The comparison to a Basis Vector 3 tonearm was an amazing and revelatory experience.

Best of luck in your audio journey.

He knows he's not getting the most out of the cartridge. He said he wasn't concerned with that in the OP. His question is, is it smarter to budget more like 50/50 cartridge/table vs the conventional 25/75? 

He thinks that's true, and its hard to argue, at least in the here and now. Also making it hard, his only experience is changing to a better cartridge. We all know how great that is. But he has no idea how much better it is putting that same cartridge on a better table and arm. At the price point he's talking, neither do I. Probably hardly anyone knows for sure. Its a pretty fair guess though that there's at least one arm out there that costs about what he spent on a cartridge and is so much better he would prefer the old cartridge on the new arm over the new cartridge on the old table. 

That really is his question. At least the way I understand it. And I am pretty sure I know which way he will answer it- but only after he has moved it over and heard it on a better table. Its just too hard to imagine how much better an arm- just the arm all by itself- can make a cartridge. Until you hear it for yourself.