Do I buy an upscale TT?

After hearing at a dealers a Kuzma Safir tonearm and having heard this system many times before but with a 4point I can say the tonearm transformed the sound more than any other piece of gear. Yes it's an expensive arm but I'd say buy it rather than a multi thousand dollar table and be very happy. BTW the table was a Kuzma Stabi R and had  MSL cartridge (don't recall model).

I've said the same here in this forum for years. A great tonearm paired with a competent drive will blow anyone away when set up properly with no more than a modest cartridge. But most audiophiles buy with their eyes. Like loudspeakers, they fixate on the turntable only to their detriment. 

@pennfootball71 - sounds like you met Bill Parish. :)

@fsonicsmith  A great tonearm with a great cartridge on a competent drive will do the trick. You have to consider the cartridge and tonearm as one unit.

The variation in the quality of cartridges is quite substantial. The more expensive cartridges are more carefully constructed with better components especially diamonds. Some cartridge companies like Lyra, MSL and Ortofon maintain their quality as you go down line, others most definitely do not like Audio Technica. I mention these companies because I have the most experience with them. 

Audio Technica ART1000 is a great cartridge, possibly the best I have.  And I have three high end Ortofons, A95, Anna and Verismo. 

Doesn't it really start with the stylus / cartridge?