Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ?

Anyone ever buy demo/used cartridges? Thoughts? Experiences?

I've bought plenty both new and used. Best is buying used from hobbyist audiophiles with stellar feedback who cleans their gear compusively (i.e. check the cart picks for a "dust beard", look for a clean stylus pic). Many of us also have large cartidge rotations, so no one cart gets too many hours. Never had any issues with cartridges bought selectively this way. Dealer demos can be OK-ish, but are usually not kept nearly as clean as the best hobbyists. And if you're buying from a gear flipper whose expertise caps out at fuzzy iPhone pics, good luck. 

But if the seller is at all honest, and their feedback is to be trusted, they should be able to accurately describe the cartridge's condition, age, and performance. I've actually had a much higher rate of various issues with used (active) electronic components.

@inagroove certainly you can hear the difference or you wouldn't be chasing that last 3%.  Sure, some members he couldn't hear it and they wouldn't chase it.

but I think you need to keep in mind, when someone with an already great system says "this made a huge difference", he is talkig about a huge percentage of that last big left for him to chase.  

And indeed there are lots of Audiogoners here that spend much more than $5k chasing the last little bit, and having a blast doing it.

Jerry

Another question would be whether to spend the extra money on the cartridge, or to allot the funds upstream.to the arm or the table. If you have a table and arm that are at the very top level, then the funds put towards the cartridge would make sense. However, how many hobbyists have placed a $10K or above cartridge on an arm and/or table that is not up to the level of the cartridge?? Then we also have the phono cabling, little point in buying a $10K cartridge, or even a $5K one if your weak link is the phono cabling. ( and arm cabling).

Exactly. And phono stage should be two/three times more expensive than the cartridge, assuming the prices reflect the quality relatively accurately.

In other words, $10k cartridge is for a very high end front end and the entire system.

It is just easier for most people to upgrade the cartridge than other components of the turntable based front end, and in fact less expensive, except for tonearm cable.

In my experience it is a mistake to think of cartridges as being on a one-dimensional spectrum of good > better> great based on price.

Cartridges, like anything else in hifi, are multi-dimensional based not only on parts quality but on preferences, synergy, design skill and many other factors. You can always spend a lot of money to get something you ultimately hate; and conversely it is just as possible to find something cheaper that you love.

I have owned cartridges at all levels up to the $10k range and my favourites are all at the lower (but still relatively expensive) levels - around $3k. Many super expensive cartridges are designed to suit a particular preference, and if you don't like the house sound of the manufacturer you are unlikely to find their $10k cartridge any more to your taste than their $1k cartridge.

Despite owning many cartridges costing a lot more, the one I keep coming back to is a 20+ year old design, and even at its original price was far from the top level in cartridge pricing at the time. Also, it does not suit everyone, and that is fine. It suits my tastes and I will keep having it re-built when it wears out as it gets closest to what I am looking for in a cartridge than anything else I have heard, even at 2,3 or 4 times its price.

So, to answer the OP, the difference between a $5k and $10k cartridge is usually small, and it is just as possible to dislike a $10k cartridge as it is a cheaper cartridge. It is also just as possible to find that a less expensive cartridge that sounds exactly like what you are looking for.