Phono Stage - The great analog tragedy

@newton_john i am not suggesting a high end phono can cure a poorly setup distorting TT system. I am merely saying dollar to dollar, a cheaper cart and a rega arm on a high end TT will sound much better than a high end cart and tonearm through a basic phono. That’s why i place phono as the 2nd most important component in the analog chain. 
 

I know people who would use a VPI + Lyra on $500 phono. For them phono is just an additional box that needs to be there. Their logic is cartridge is doing all the work, phono can be anything. They are lost forever. 
 

@pani  

That's no reason to privilege the phono stage. Replacing any component with a "poor cheapo" item will spoil the sound.

all this comparison with live music is ultimately a fantasy. We all know live is so far in a different realm than reproduced music. Forget live, even a direct from microphone is so much more laden with information and dynamics that most “recordings” don’t have.

@pani For reference I use an LP I recorded, which is a live recording. No compression or limiting of any kind was used in the tape machine or the LP mastering, which was done directly from the master tape. 

Since I was there I know how this recording (Canto General) is supposed to sound. 

So- not a fantasy. You just need to get out there and do it. 

@atmasphere for once I don’t feel the need for a live music uncompressed recording to tell which equipment sounds more correct. And most of us anyway don’t have access to such recordings. 99% of our listening is based on a general studio mastered recording. At max we look for a well mastered recording if available.
 

I don’t need to listen to Knopfler live to tell which system is sounding more natural. It’s a simple thing. The best hifi is after all the one which reproduces the source well. It is not about creating additional effects which isn’t in the recording. The word we are looking for is probably “natural”, not “live”

A Cheaper Cartridge from a Range of Cartridges, with a time put into getting the Stylus on the money Zenith, Azimuth and the SRA to ones own preference, even used on a well used Vinyl, but quite clean is a difficult set up to better.

A TOTR Cartridge with failing in the Stylus alignment, especially the Zenith, will struggle to impress with Parity to the above, when used on the Same Analogue Source, Same Tonearm and Headshell, Same Support Structure and Mounting for the Analogue Source, Same Audio System Amplifying / Adding Gain to the produced signal, Same Speakers to produce the End Sound, Same Listening Environment.  

Keeping all things even for the Comparison the better aligned Stylus wins hand down any time as the most attractive end sound and the wanting of the End Sound to be kept.

I once heard a Cart' bought for a few hundred GBP as a Donor Model to be refurbished. The Cart' was purchased with a guestimate of over 1000 hours of usage when bought and approx' 1500 hours when demo'd.

The Cart' had extensive investigation to the Stylus set up, when compared to very well aligned much more expensive Cart' from the same Brand, the Donor Model Cart' was so much more attractive to listen to.

I informed my friend their new modifications to the Tonearm they produce, and the time spent on the Cart' Alignment, may have just shown that a Spent Cart' is actually a Cart' that is something quite special. Said Cart' remained in use once reintroduced for the rest of the session.

No Doubt Swapping Out a Phonostage will have created a difference to a End Sound produced. Would the Swap have evened up the differences discerned between Cart's? I think not, but as the Phon' Swap did not occur, I can't say for sure.