Dear @drbond : We already know that everything ( items. ) in the overall analog rig is critical: TT/cartridge/tonearm and for good reasons.
Now, you can have/own the ultimate: analog rig with the best whole capacity for the cartridge can pick-up " all " the recorded signal in those grooves adding the less every kind of distortions but the next step is the hardest and more " terrifying " for that recorded audio signal because that extremely delicate and sensitive signal must be amplified at a level that can be handled by the line stage or by the speaker amplifier and this kind of amplification is a true challenge for any phono stage that needs to amplify 10K times with no noise and no distortion ( those is imposible to achieve, nothing is perfect. ) or at least mantain at minimum to preserve the original audio signal integrity and things does not finish with the amplifiying steps but it comes additional steps in the phono stage that even degrades higher the cartridge signal than the amplifiying proccess and this is the proccess of the inverse RIAA eq that must be accurated with at minimum everykind of distortions.
The task of a phonolinepreamp will demands the best electronic design you can achieve to mantain at minimum the whole signal degradation that happens in the phono stage proccecess.
Yes, you need the Bugatti and if you think you do not then why to worry to change your RP-8 or your cartridge?
Don't you think?
R.