Is table really more importsnt than cartridge?

I agree with Sdcampbell and Aroc... The foundation of a good analog system is the turntable/tonearm, imo, and I'd always start building a system with the best turntable and tonearm I can manage and then work towards a better cartridge. The challenge is that, as Sdcampbell points out, the tt/tonearm/cartridge make a SYSTEM: there are real synergies to be had. And, there is an iterative process of improvement going on.

This being said, some of the discussion at Audio Asylum greatly oversimplifies the advice being offered. There ARE significant differences between cartridges: they are readily audible and very material. It is simply that, without a strong foundation in the tt and tonearm, you're wasting your time pouring lots of cash into the cartridge.
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I agree with sd that it's a system and it's the balance of the components that makes it work.

I'm pretty inexperienced as far as audiophiles go...but I can tell you that the Clearaudio Aurm Beta sounded much better on my GyroSE/OL Silver than on my old AR/Linn. The Clearaudio sonically sounded much better on that AR than the Shure I had on before, BUT something wasn't "right" about the Clear on that table...like it was more than the table could handle, like putting a Ferrari engine in a plain Ford sedan--the performance was there but the match was all wrong. Funny enough, the Clearaudio was considered "too good" for the AR and "not up to par" on the Gyro. Not so sure I agree on the latter, but I do think that putting a very fancy MC on the Gyro would be worth it, if only I could afford it...reason is, the quality of the Gyro and the Silver are such that they could still work well with what a great cart would give them (as could my phono stage, pre, and power amps).

I guess what I did with the Gyro was get the best TT and arm I could afford right away, and got a less expensive "great bang for the buck" cart until I can afford a Koetsu or like brethren, knowing that carts come and go, I wanted to get a "keeper" TT and arm and worry about icing the cake later.
You know, I heard the very inexpensive Grado Black on a VPI mkIII through a very expensive Levinson/B&W 800 rig and it was wonderful...and the music was picked up by a, what, $40 cart. We could clearly see that a better cart would have improved everything, and clearly the rest of the rig warranted a finer cart, but what I'm saying is, it still worked well and was still pleasing, if you could get past the fact that it could have easily been even better with a fancy cart. Then I heard a Linn LP12/Akito/Linn MC (don't recall specifics) through a Conrad PV14/MV60SE/higher B&W CDM rig, which was, I think, pretty well-rounded and it was quite musical and enjoyable, the kind of rig where you forget the gear and dig the music. I think my TT setup sounds very nice and moving the cart up with just open things up more and get that special musicality going.

I'm rambling, but I guess what I'm saying is, I'd rather have a so-so cart on a great rig than a great cart on a crap rig, but neither is as good as a well-rounded system because you miss that musical synergy that makes things sort of seamlessly come together, if that makes any sense.

But, hey, I only know what I hear so I'll move over and let the experienced fellas get into it now :)

I don't know the answer...but it would seem obvious that the components must meet some level of solid performance...do what they are designed to do. It is clear that people do have their own strong beliefs on these matters. One topic that comes to mind recently on a thread dealt with the cleaning of records. Some people feel that damage is done to a new record if it is not cleaned before the first play. I myself don't adhere to this belief...if it were true how could there be so many used records on the market...and I mean really old records that are wonderful recordings and sought out by people. The technology of cartridges and maintenance of this medium have advanced leaps and bounds...but these used records were exposed to everything indicative of the time. However, there is truth and substance to a certain degree in all the positions taken on this hobby. Some do take positions too far and one must step back and look at whether a position taken can be supported by actual data as opposed to "their experience".

Thanks for the thoughtful responses thus far. If I may move the discussion from the theoretical to the practical -- I'm thinking of investing $300 to improve my analog setup and am wondering how to get most sonic improvement for the buck. My rig is a Thorens TD-320, with Shure V15VxMR cartridge, with a Gram Amp 2SE preamp. My initial thought was to sell the Cartridge for about $150 and use the $450 to buy a better cartridge. After reading posts about importance of the table itself, however, I'm wondering if it's smarter to sell the table for about $150 and use the $450 to buy a better table. Or maybe I can't buy any significant improvement for "only" $300? Any thoughts? Thanks, Rich

Winegasman, my suggestion is to be careful doing such small incremental upgrades. My experience has been that I've usually been better off spending such amounts on more vinyl or saving it until I could upgrade to something at least double cost. While there are wonderful values available in audio (and your tt/cartridge combination is one of them), it is also unfortunately true that sonic improvement often follows a pretty steep cost/benefit curve.