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Phono Stage, Tonearm, Cartridge Question - Which is the most important?

I’ve been on this site for some time and have always been impressed with the amount of knowledge here.  I am a music lover to the core and I really enjoy the end result of high-end audio.  Over the past 3-4 years I have significantly upgraded my system based on advice here and from professional retailers. I have no technical skills or background but would say I have graduated from “I don’t know what I don’t know” to “I know what I don’t know” with what I don’t know being quite a lot.  I am, however, intellectually curious and eager to understand how things work.

With that background, my question is this. When considering the phono stage, tonearm and cartridge chain, which component is the most significant determinant of how a record sounds? I know everyone has different views about how something should sound but which of the three components has the greatest impact on how something will sound and why?

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

@puppyt

 

 

 

puppyt

Showing 1 response by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
7,543 posts
 

Well, let’s see after about fifty years owning turntables… probably six or seven. I am not a churner. My rule of thumb is spend equally on the turntable as the phonostage. So given a good tt… then the phono stage is number one. Typically I will spend more on a tt than a cartridge and arm, so the tt second. Then cartridge and arm about the same.

 

So Phono stage, turntable and finally the tone arm and cartridge. Obviously there is a lot of wiggle room. They all must be compatible and of the kind that sound like you want.

Let me check my thinking: is it the opposite of what Jason Borne recommended? Yes, check. So that is my answer. PS, TT then equally arm and cartridge… very generally.

 

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