Your Opinion


I just wonder how much the perceivable quality of sound benefits from $1500 dollars cartridge or $3000 dollars tonearm...comparing to its chipper counterparts - 75 dollars cart and 200 dollars tonearm.
I have a feeling that if we would measure a "quality performance" hear able by human ear and measure it by 10 points (ten being the best) and giving those "tens points" to best of the best (and in most cases to the most expensive ones) cartridges, tonearms, turntables and etc...then those 75 dollars or 100 dollars cartridges and tonearms would easily get 8 or 9 points...
What I am trying to say ...is that it seems that we would have to pay 50 or 100 dollars to get 99% of sound quality (for cartridge, tonearm and etc). And in order to get that remaining 1% (and we all know we will never able to hear it anyway) we would have to pay 1500% more!
Just try to get regular 5 dollars interconnect and change it to 1000 dollars one. And don't fool yourself " Ohh... it sounds so much better!!!" Most of us would hear no difference in sound. I know I won't. My math is simple - there is no hearable improvement in sound behind 100 dollars cart, 200 dollars tonearm and 300/400 dollars turntable.
sputniks
Have you ever compared these two price ranges? If you had, you would not post this thread. Or if you have, I submit that you either have hearing difficulties or made a serious mistake in assembling the components in the two price ranges.

I have, and I am completely sure there is far more difference than the 1% you propose. This sort of weak and unfounded hypothesis is out of place on this forum.
Well, the difference between 8 or 9 and 10 is 20% or 10%, but anyway.

My opinion (you asked for it), is this. If YOU are happy and enjoying the music, have spent little, and have no angst because you haven't spent more and are, therefore, missing something - you're doing fine. Or, if YOU are happy and enjoying the music, have spent a lot, and have no angst because you didn't spend less and are, therefore, getting less than what you paid for - you're doing fine.
I am ok with your general drift. What disturbes me is that you seem a bit hot under the collar. Everybody in this forum knows that, for example, I am a blowhard with limited experience. They all slap the crap out of me and gently jerk me to reason. Tone arms matter. Cartridges matter, but a little less because you cannot hear them unless they are held well. What matters more is not spending more than will let you love the music.
Your math may be fine but your logic needs work.

IMO, the bottom line is that price usually has less to do with performance than most are willing to admit.

Of course a higher price should more easily afford a designer to add quality, aesthetics, or compensate for potential shortcomings in a given execution.

Bottom line is a product's sonic performance has everything to with the design and the execution thereof. Not the price.

Case in point, I am intimately familiar with a product that retails for $14,000. It's performance is a good 20% or better over a product retailing for $3000.

However, neither comes close performance-wise to a third product that retails for $400.

That is except for a fourth product that retails for $3150, whose performance is simply in a whole nuther league than the first 3 products.

Go figure.

For the buyer, ultimately it's knowing what works and doesn't work for your system respective to your budget but otherwise regardless of cost.

On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with somebody spending $100k on a given product. In fact I think it would be lots of fun and if I had that kind of buying power, I wouldn't hesitate to do likewise. Assuming of course the product accomplished it's intended purpose.

But I'd also feel rather silly to think just because my product costs $100k, it's better than anything that costs less.

-IMO
Sputniks, You use the terms we and us. You really should only worry about yourself and how you feel about what you are doing and how it makes you feel. FWIW I agree with 4yanx's comments and Aceto's last sentence.
I second Newbee. Please don't include me in your "we" and "us." Bored Sputnik? Raining in your neck of the woods?