Turntable versus tonearm versus cartridge: which is MOST important?

guns or butter, now where did I put that pesky 3rd variable……

EVERYTHING!!

Dear friends : The thread is interesting but the op question.

Analog rigs comes or are scaled/levels and I think that to have a better view on the analog rig links importance could be better to analize inside each one level/scaled scenario:

- entry level analog rig as Rega, Project or Technics where  the Rega/Project  TTs already comes with mounted cartridges.

The Rega/project units makes its job at its entry level status. We can't ask here for tigth speed stability ( well the Technics 1200 G is very good about. ) and non-resonat/vibrational plattforms and certainly not the SAT tonearm but even with those analog rigs with its own mounted tonearm every time the owner change the cartridge he can listen the improvement due to a better cartridge.

So in this level seems to me that cartridge makes the difference.

- what happens if we go up in the analog rig scale? where we have better TTs and better tonearms. Well seems to me that it's the cartridge the link that makes the difference every time we change it.

and I can follow up in the analog rig scale with almost similar results: cartridge really makes the difference, is the one with the higher posibilities to do it.

Higher differences with the cartridge changes that when we change similar price tonearm or TT.

Normally an audiophile or newcomers not own 4-5 TTs and 10 tonearms but you can be sure that own more than one cartridge.



For me try to analize any audio subject with out context  has no really meaning and could be useless.

I posted several times: other than the LP the source is the cartridge it's the transducer and the TT/tonearm are , like it or not, its slaves because both items ( TT/tonearm. ) where choosed for the cartridge can shows at its best and this happens too with the phono stage choice.

Is it important the TT and the tonearm? of course both are but with a way different roles down there.

From some time now we can't find out really bad TTs or bad tonearms. So changing a cartridge with better tracking abilities ( even inside same price levels. ) , everything the same, will shows better quality level in what we are listening.

No two transducers sound alike/the same but some TTs and in less way tonearms does it.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

A 100$ cart on a  10K  table is better than vice-versa !

Been there many times .

My own personal observation is that the table and arm are critical for getting the best out of any given cartridge.

I've tried my $300 grado platinum (original) on both my Denon DP-1250 with a Magnepan Unitrac 1 arm and my TNT 4 with ET 2.5 Tonearm, both thru a Herron MM input.  The Denon is a decent DD deck, and the Maggie arm is quite remarkable.  But there wasn't much of a contest here.  Soundstaging was better on the TNT, as was detail retrieval (even with the elliptical stylus), timbre, bass, highs, just about everything. Other than the bass, most of the differences were smaller, but when added up overall, the TNT fared much better.  I also tried the same experiment with a Supex SDX-1100r and an Audioquest B100, both moving coils going into the Herron MC input.  Even more of a difference favoring the TNT/ET2.5 combo.

I suspect that others may find differently depending on the arm/table combinations that they compare, but for me, a less expensive cartridge is much more satisfying on an expensive. well engineered table/arm combo than an expensive cartridge is on a more budget minded table/arm.  Expensive cartridges even more so.

An added benefit is that you will be able to hear deficiencies in the cartridge better on a better table, and that knowledge may help you in determining a future cartridge when the time comes.