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 3 responses by puppyt

@pindac

How would you describe the Phono stage’s role in the signal path?
 

Thanks for these responses. 
 

@lewm Sorry for the repetitive thread. As far as your last post is concern, my question wasn’t to rank the three components. The question was which of the three has the most impact on the sound of your system.