This was a pretty neat discussion before veering into belt vs DD. A lot of interesting points made.
My own unscientific opinion is that budget carts sound pretty darn good, and like others have pointed out, they depreciate quickly. And I've heard budget carts really shine with some expensive phono stages (although some will expose their limitations). So given the question posed by the OP, I'd spend more on the turntable first.
But as always, a vinyl playback system is just that, a system of a motor/platter/plinth/tonearm/cartridge/phono pre/etc, so it's all about finding the right combo for you. Tune it by ear and don't worry about where you allocated money.
My own unscientific opinion is that budget carts sound pretty darn good, and like others have pointed out, they depreciate quickly. And I've heard budget carts really shine with some expensive phono stages (although some will expose their limitations). So given the question posed by the OP, I'd spend more on the turntable first.
But as always, a vinyl playback system is just that, a system of a motor/platter/plinth/tonearm/cartridge/phono pre/etc, so it's all about finding the right combo for you. Tune it by ear and don't worry about where you allocated money.