Many years ago I attended a demonstration by Linn. They had two Identical Linn Sondeks, one fitted with their previous top tonearm the Ittok. The second sondek was fitted with the more expensive Ekos tonearm. to emphasise the tonearm's contribution relative to the cartridge, the Sondek/Ittok was fitted with their top mc, the 'Troika'. The Sondek/Ekos was fitted with their budget K9 mm. The cost of the Ittok/Troika and Ekos/K9 were similar so it wasn't a question of spending more money but simply what priority to give to the arm or pickup. Anyway, the majority consensus was the the Ekos fitted with the cheap K9 was sonically the winner! The Ittok/Troika was a tad more 'polished' in the treble and a bit more extended in the bass. The Ekos/K9 was superior in sound-staging, Imaging, dynamics, etc etc.
Breakdown of Turntable Performance
Over the years I've read numerous reviews of turntables, arms, platters, and plinths. I always wondered how much these individual components contributed to the overall sound. Here's my take:
Cartridge - 80%
Arm - 10%
Platter - 5%
Plinth - 5%
Cartridge - 80%
Arm - 10%
Platter - 5%
Plinth - 5%