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Cartridges: Complete Scam?

I’m very new to analog, and researching my options on forums I keep coming across the same sentiment: that past the ultra low-end cartridges, there is very little gains in actual sound quality and that all you’re getting are different styles and colorations to the sound.

So, for example, if I swapped out my $200 cartridge that came with my table for a Soundsmith, Dynavector, Oracle, etc, I may notice a small improvement in detail and dynamics, but I’m mostly just going to get a different flavor. Multiple people told me they perffered thier old vintage cartridges over modern laser-cut boron-necked diamonds.

It’s possible that these people are just desperately defending thier old junk and/or have never heard high end audio. But if what they’re saying is true, than the cartridge industry is a giant SCAM. If I blow 2.5k minimum on an Air Tight I better get a significant improvement over a $200 bundler — and if just all amounts to a different coloration, than that is a straight-up scam ripoff.

So guys — are these forums just BS-ing me here? Is it really a giant scam?
madavid0

Showing 1 response by timlub

timlub
2,043 posts
 
it is the same all over audio and many industries,  High performance comes at a price, but to get beyond that, the cost can be astronomical... 
 
You have a car that will run a 1/4 mile in 14 seconds, you drop $1000 in the engine and get it below 12 seconds,  you need to drop another $3000 to get it below 10 seconds.... how much to make it even faster?  
The tweaking and expertise to get better performance in a phono cartridge is no different.... 
a 12 second 1/4 mile car is fast, but is it worth an extra $3000 to get a 10 second car? 
Of course the numbers are just arbitrary,  but the concept remains true. 
So,  no, its not a scam, but minor differences in performance are expensive. 

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