Hi. I’ve not read everything that’s come before, so I apologize for any redundancy. I liked and agree with the early post about the cartridge, turntable and phono preamp each being 90% of the sound. So I treat all three equally, and I’m always asking myself, which of the three has become my weakest link? It doesn’t mean I spend the same amount on each one, but rather I read reviews looking for a piece that costs maybe twice what my current one does—and is consistently called a value that (I hate this phrase) punches above its weight. And the circle goes round till I’m happy. Which I am right now, for now. Given that you didn’t mention your phono pre, I wonder if it’s your next upgrade?
Honest question about cartridge vs. turntable performance.
I’ve been a vinyl lover for a few years now and I have an ortofon black cartridge setup with an mmf 5.1 turntable with acrylic platter and speed controller. My question to all the vinyl audiophiles out there is this. How much difference does a turntable really make compared to the cartridge? Will I hear a significant difference if I upgraded my turntable and kept the same cartridge? Isn’t the cartridge 90%+ of the sound from a vinyl setup? Thank you guys in advance for an honest discussion on this topic.