Table/Cartridge price ratio

Then there's the further complication that how good your cartridge sounds also depends on how good the phono stage is. I just upgraded my phono stage from the one built into a 1980s Amber to a modestly priced outboard Cambridge Audio 640p, and I never imagined that my humble little Denon DL-160 was grabbing that much sound out of the groove.

johnnyb53..i used to use a CA 640p with my dl-160, and yeah, it didn't sound bad. after reading Hdm's posts about dialing in db gain, i decided to give a phono pre, with adjustable gain and load, a shot. i was able to get a musical surroundings phonomena used for $325 on audiogon. when u dial in gain (44db on the phonomena) the sound becomes more effortless and natural sounding. my system played bright and i loaded it down from 47K to 300 ohms to tone it down. the phonomena also has an adjustment for capacitive loading. when i switched from 100pF(?) to 200pF the background became blacker and i was able to pick up more detail. i don't understand how this happened because, supposedly, MC's should be unaffected by capacitive loading.
anyway, what i'm trying to tell ya, is that your humble dl-160 can sound even better with a not so big bucks change. (u could get at least $140 for the cambridge the last time i looked here at audiogon) and maybe our dl-160's are not so humble at all....if u go over to pink fish media, you'll find that quite a few brits are using them on $2000+ tables!!

Would you get the same result from a cartridge that is in the $800 range with one that is in the $1200 range

Assuming the cartridges match the arm specs, of course the two cartridges will sound different!

As a rule, using a good cheap cartridge on a performant table yields better results than the other way round. It's simple: the engineering on a cheap TT is too poor to support the superior engineering of the cartridge.
The cheap Denons, while good performers in principle & for the money, are quite limited in application (very low compliance, output, etc).

If you have a phono stage that is up to the task, a high performance cartridge can work well with a decent TT/arm. You are building a portfolio of equipment by investing in the highest yield upgrades that address specific areas for improvement. Although purchasing an expensive cartridge now may not provide all the benefits possible, if you are planning to move up the table/arm down the road it could make sense.

>>a high performance cartridge can work well with a decent TT/arm.<<

Well sort of. A "high performance" cartridge requires a tonearm capable of optimizing its' abilities. Furthermore you must match the strengths of each component in order to garner maximum performance from the combination.

It's very easy to take a great cartridge and great tonearm only to have a gross mismatch.