At what price point do I run into diminishing returns on an MC Cartridge?


I need to replace my MC cartridge.  I've had limited experience with them but I have certainly noticed a dramatic difference in performance.  My first 3 were priced at $500 Sumiko, $900 Ortofon and $5000 Linn Kandid.  The difference between my first cartridge and second - nearly double in price, was a very noticeable improvement.  Then I took the plunge and spent $5000 (after tax) for my Linn Kandid cartridge.  The difference and improvement in the quality of sound was startling.  The soundstage was like nothing I'd ever heard before.  Coupled with my newly acquired McIntosh MP 1100 phono pre-amp and I was hearing things in LP's that quite frankly I had never heard before.  Amazing!  So here's the question: At what price point do I run into seriously diminished returns on a cartridge investment?  I rather doubt I'm going to have "double" the quality of sound that I received with my Linn Kandid cartridge if e.g. I went up to a $10K cartridge. So, my question to you audiophiles with loads of experience, what is your opinion on what price point (neighborhood) would take me to a place where every dollar spent thereafter would yield only micro returns.  Said another way, what is the best price point to take anyone to the the same neighborhood as a person with "money to burn" on cartridges?  BTW, I realize there are probably some pearls that don't cost nearly as much - and that money doesn't always buy you love.  If you KNOW of those do tell.         
normantaylor

Showing 1 response by rbstehno

Normantaylor-creating a thread like this will get you a mix of people that don’t want to spend any amount of money on audio pieces like cables and cartridges or people that think their $100 piece is a giant killer.
Money isn’t necessarily the critical factor in determining which cartridge will be best for you. If you have a Music Hall turntable, you will be using a few hundred $$ cartridge. If you have a nice tt with a $8k tonearm, you won’t be using a $500 cartridge.
If I was searching for a high budget cartridge, I would make sure that you have a tonearm and phono preamp that can support such cartridge and then go listen if possible to cartridges that will work in your system. With analog, system synergy is very important, probably more so than 1 piece by itself