What matters is the table/arm/cartridge interface. If they don't "have chemistry", it doesn't matter how much you spend on one over the other.
I remember buying a Grado at the upper end of their offerings and installing it in my Sumiko MMT arm on my VPI HW table. There was nothing that I could do to keep it from literally bouncing across the record.
I brought it back to the store owner, who then chewed out the salesperson for not knowing about the "Grado Bounce", something that happens when you put one in an MMT arm and every salesperson is supposed to know about.
I remember buying a Grado at the upper end of their offerings and installing it in my Sumiko MMT arm on my VPI HW table. There was nothing that I could do to keep it from literally bouncing across the record.
I brought it back to the store owner, who then chewed out the salesperson for not knowing about the "Grado Bounce", something that happens when you put one in an MMT arm and every salesperson is supposed to know about.