Turntable versus tonearm versus cartridge: which is MOST important?

Lohanimal, If your question is not hypothetical, you got a great deal.  I paid $600 for my QL10, but it was in "broken" condition.  Or were you merely trying to point out that cost is not necessarily related to quality, especially with used or vintage equipment.  So the question posed by the OP falls apart in that case.

Lex Luther lives in Gotham. Everyone knows that. Somewhere in the sewer system he has a subterranean mansion.

You can get a “deal” on the Helix, I am sure.

In the end, the firing squad would be a kindness.

I think this thread should be taken out and shot.  Blindfold optional.

Raul, no sensible audiophile could disagree with what you wrote. (Is the term “sensible audiophile” an oxymoron?) But at the outset, the OP wrote that he did not want responses to the effect that everything is important. This I think drove the tenor of the responses he’s gotten. I dislike such questions per se, but I was bored enough at that moment to concoct a response. With an excellent TT and tonearm, you can get a lot of juice out of a mediocre cartridge, but I don’t think the reverse is true. Not in my experience.

I might point out that 3-4 of us delivered the same opinion as MC, prior to MC's post.  Anyway, it's a comfort to know we are mostly in agreement.

Many of us have had the experience where a medium or a budget priced cartridge sounds excellent on a very expensive turntable with a high-quality tonearm. I am among those who have had this experience. Therefore I would say the tonearm and turntable are most important. Which is really to say that you can’t get the most out of an expensive cartridge using a cheap tonearm and turntable. I guess I am more comfortable with that way of putting it.