Develop a hierarchy for phono playback

I used the same Cardas Myrtle heart cartridge, and the same phono preamp, on two different tables and tone arms.  The Marantz vs Transrotor with an Acoustic Signa­ture TA-1000 tonearm.  Huge, very noticeable difference. I would suggest balance and synergy, subject to owner’s bias of course.

Assuming that even the weakest link is not really weak,

what vinylcat said.

I think, cartridges less than about $500 are a waist of money, though. US prices, you can usually get some cartridges from the UK and Japan for significantly less.

@billstevenson 

  I burst out laughing when I read your first sentence “ I hope that we can build a consensus…”

I like your posts and think that you are a thoughtful listener.  However the subjectivity inherent to Audio appreciation mitigates against consensus building.

  IMO the best we can hope for on any topic are a couple of valid viewpoints that are cogently supported.  I have found personally that some great members here have viewpoints that just don’t conform to my reality although I respect the reasoning that goes into shaping their judgements.

  Meanwhile, back to phono stages…

I would like everyone to go back and carefully re-read ghdprentice's post.  I think his logic is excellent and could form the basis for consensus.  Thoughts?

The top of the list may need to be the record itself. Here there are 4 turntables set up from different manufacturers. A crappy record/recording sounds crappy on all 4. 
 

All leads back to the G.I.G.O. adage.