Do You Play Or Save Your Best Cartridges

Is it not that a Cartridge is extremely Fragile and all with a time served experience are knowing there is a Cart' going to be lost, so a spare at hand is not too strange.

This does add to the momentary heart flutters when carrying out certain management procedures for the Cart'. I have stopped Hand Cueing, it helps with my needs.

Spare Cart's are sometimes available, as used Cart's are not sold on, and a model is purchased that has superseded them, over a long period a collection can be acquired.

A Cart' certainly does not need a 1000 hours usage to warrant replacement, some like myself have moved on at a few hundred hours.

I have a Hana SL that is with approx' 100 Hours when superseded after a short period of usage and is now owned for 4 years at least.

The length of ownership and limited usage does not bother me, I have camera Lenses that cost more and have maybe been on the Camera for approx' 500 Images being captured over 6+years.

A Cart' and Camera Lens are a Tool, one is vital to capture light and enable the capturing of a Image, the other is vital, as it tracks a groove, which drive coils, generate a signal, to be transferred to the Point it is to become Sound. 

The Cart' is Sacrificial and will not remain as a optimised performer throughout it usage life, swapping out prior to the Styli being worn, is OK.    

@grislybutter    "what does a 10,000 dollar cartridge do better than a $1,000 one?"

Assuming equally good set-up, I believe there are only three variables: design, material choice and quality, accuracy of assembly.  The first can be addressed by genius or getting more minds on the job - the latter costs money.  The others mainly cost money.

The Cartridge falls into a Market where it is met with a Low Turnover high Mark Up.

This was learnt quite a few years past when HiFi Magazines were being used to promote Cartridges supplied directly from the Manufacturers at the Wholesale Price.

Cart's were passed around a selection of in house reviewers, the ones that were not to be kept in house were soon to be for sale at a very attractive price following the release of the Monthly Magazine.

I once was sold a Cart' from this era with a few hours on it that retailed at £700-800 for approx' £150.

On my initial inquiry, I was quite skeptical about the above explanation given for a unusually cheap Cart'.

The explanation being the Producers are releasing Cart's at wholesale to be reviewed and promoted, this was at the time when Turntables were becoming must have items again, and Brands were producing New Models for the first time since CD hurt the Vinyl Replay ancillaries business.

I picked up in person, by taking a Train from a London Train Station to a Coastal Train Station, where the Vendor met me.

The Vendor was the editor of a well known HiFi Magazine, I believed the story given after that.

Hypothesis to ponder, if the parts for a TOTR Cart' from Brand is say $500 and a Technician once completed their input and any other input required to complete the Cart's as a functioning model adds another $300, how much does the end Cart' get entered into the Market at.

Take the above to a very reputable Brand, and how much does the Cart' get entered into the Market Place at.

Take a renowned Cart' designer and the Cart' is now assembled by their hand and Quality Controlled from Parts on a Bench Table to a functioning model, how much is this personal service going to add to a already substantially priced item.

Many Many Cart's share materials, leaving many many Cart's quite similar in their overall sonic. The Brand and the Service on offer from the Brand will determine the Mark Up over the basic costs outlaid.

Neary all my HiFi System is Bespoke Built, it has been produced by EE's, Technicians and Engineers adept with Micro Engineering Skills.

I have always known the costing for the parts required to produce my Bespoke Items. This leaves me with the equation of how much I am to pay for the work offered from a wanted service. I have never denied myself the opportunity to have the work completed. I am not subjected to substantial Mark Up's just a calculation of hours required and remunerations requested.     

I play my best cartridge, a Lyra Skala, and keep a Clavis Da Capo and AT OC9 II as spares in the eventuality the Skala needs work or gives up the ghost.

what does a 10,000 dollar cartridge do better than a $1,000 one?

@grislybutter There are so many variable in analog playback, this will never be sufficiently answered. However at some point the price comes down enough that it dictates materials, design, and assembly choices which are less than optimal. It’s not that they can’t sound good in the right setup, it’s that something more expensive or exotic *could* sound better. At $1000:

• Aluminum pipe cantilever is almost a given. Boron cantilevers are very rare here. Cantilever has a big impact on sound. Aluminum is generally considered warmer, and boron more detailed / clean sounding.
• Neodymium magnets. Alnico / platinum / permendur / samarium-cobalt magnets are not seen at this price point. Magnet absolutely has a significant impact on the sound. Neodymiums are generally punchy but brash compared to the more velvety smooth sound from exotic magnets.
• Body material - noting exotic here; you’re lucky to get aluminum. But you’re more likely to get some kind of plastic, resin wood, or delrin. Bodies are a more subtle impact than magnet or cantilever, but still there.
• Coil and motor assembly. Being handmade, there is much variation in production. Many manufactures select the "best" finished motors for their higher end models. The lower grade motors get earmarked for the $1000 models :)
• Stylus - I’m not too hung up on stylus, as I think even a nude elliptical can sound exceptional. But it definitely NEEDS to be a nude shank, high quality diamond. Bonded tips suck.

You can certainly find used cartridges and "deals" for new cartridges at $1000 that sound awesome. But for me (and others) the "what if" drives us to try more and more exotic examples too. Yes - there are nuances, subtleties, and refinements that make the expense worthwhile (to us, sometimes). But a properly setup and matched $1000 "good deal" cartridge can definitely sound badass too :) In a 2nd system I’m now running a Benz Wood I got off here for $1000, and it really doesn’t give up THAT much to the exotic big rig (with the $10K+ cart). But the little Benz has definitely been provided the "right" partners in arm and phono stage - that’s absolutely crucial. The Ortofon Cadenza Red is another near-$1K cartridge I’ve really liked a lot in the past.