Was your first cartridge relatively expensive?

Howie, from what you've described elsewhere about your objectives, I'd encourage you to consider a first cartridge in the $500-$900 price range. Below that, I don't think you'll get a good sense of what your vinyl playback can sound like in your system. And above that an accident will be a really painful experience. As others have pointed out already, the cartridge will wear out and have to be replaced at some point and you can always upgrade at that point (or before).

There is definitely a learning curve with vinyl playback, both as to set up and as to handling the LPs and the hardware. Cartridges are very robust critters, but most of us have destroyed a cantilever by accident somewhere along the line.

In the price range I've suggested there are a number of cartridges that will perform very well, the choice depending on what tonearm you end up getting and with due consideration to your listening priorities.

If budget becomes an issue, I would definitely opt for spending even less on a cartridge in order to spend more on the phono stage. A big mistake many people make is to spend too little on the phono stage. In my experience, the phono stage is critical to a good vinyl front end.
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My experience with cartridges is very different. I find that I typically use a cartridge for 4 or more years before replacing, and that's listening almost every day. So, that's 3,500 - 4,500 hours for me. I've been doing this for 30 years, and my experience has been pretty consistent over that time. My current cartridge probably has 2,000 hours on it and I can't tell any degradation so far.

Well said, Dan_ed! I like your summary.
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Howie, be cautious about what you read: from me or anyone else. We're all victims of what we've had the opportunity to hear (or not hear) and under what conditions. In my case, I've heard the Scoutmaster extensively and in a system that is very well set-up and that I know very well. I've never heard the Teres.

So, I can't offer an informed comparison of the sound of the two tables, all I can offer is a comparison of what I hear with the Scoutmaster with Shelter 510 or Denon 103 cartridges in Slipknot1's system versus what I hear in my own system with Walker Audio Proscenium turntable and Magic Diamond cartridge. I could easily live with the Scoutmaster: what it does well syncs very nicely with my listening priorities.
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