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Turntable versus tonearm versus cartridge: which is MOST important?

Before someone chimes in with the obvious "everything is important" retort, what I'm really wondering about is the relative significance of each.

So, which would sound better:

A state of the art $10K cartridge on a $500 table/arm or a good $500 cartridge on a $10K table/arm?

Assume good enough amplification to maximize either set up.

My hunch is cartridge is most critical, but not sure to what extent.

Thanks.


bobbydd

Showing 1 response by mrklas

mrklas
441 posts
 
I have heard and believe an excellent table/plinth is the building block for a good turntable.

Effectively the cartridge's job is to measure vibrations so the better the table and the tonearm the easier the job is for the cartridge to get the information.

Some people like car analogies - race tires and good seat and harness keep the driver in position enable a great driver to get more out of a car.  If the driver's not skilled then the impact of race tires and properly seating position don't really have an impact.


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