TT cartridge question

Sometime,probably about 1989, I acquired a new Sonagraphe SG-3 turntable, with a Sumiko MMT tonearm and a Shure V-15 cartridge(?). I have since upgraded the cartridge, first to an Ortophon Kontrapunt A or B and then to a Sumiko Celebration. With a Dynavector XL-20 in between. At this point to keep up upgrading the cartridge without either doing the tonearm or turntable is foolish. BUT I have enjoyed and benefited from each upgrade.
The whole vinyl assembly in 1989 was about $600 the Sumiko Celebration was about $1600. Works for me.

Only if the cart has its own Visa ;~)

Turntable and arm are far more important than the cartridge.

A great table/tonearm and average cartridge will outperform an average table/tonearm and great cartridge all day long.

Agree with Audiofeil. If you're going to upgrade a vinyl front end, upgrade the table, arm and phono stage before spending more than a few hundred dollars on a cartridge.

I use a $5K LOMC, but it's on a $7K table and $4K arm playing through an $8K phono stage. I also have a little $150 MM and it sounds superb on this rig (though not quite as superb as the LOMC of course). OTOH, whenever I try "cheaping out" on any of the other three components (table, arm, phono), the sound goes downhill VERY fast.

IME costly cartridges on inexpensive rigs are not the best use of resources. They are too revealing of system flaws to play their best in less than optimal environments. (And if they're not super revealing, what did you spend all the money for?)