System synergy is difficult for me to plan so I have made upgrades based on budget and opportunity. I have focused my gear with one brand so I would expect success regarding pre, amp & phono. I started my love for vinyl 15 years ago with a used Rega Planar 2 from eBay that had the original MM cartridge. I enjoyed if for several years and then got a used Rega RP6 from here with the original HO MM Exact2 cartridge. I was upgrading both at the same time and loved it immediately. I later purchased a used LO MC Goldring Eroica LX that had been retipped with the Sapphire service at SoundSmith. This was a really nice step up. A couple years have passed and I recently purchased a Benz Wood SM new from our good friend Kron here on Audiogon. Okay, my first new cartridge and an obvious step up from all others. This cartridge blew me away right out of the box. The soundstage became three dimensional and so precise! I have been so amazed. I have made other upgrades of components that I will leave out of this conversation, but this was the most fun of them all. I was thinking to start a thread to encourage more newbie analog members like myself to not forget the cartridge. The more seasoned folks realized this long ago.
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.