True. But to take advantage of those 10K carts and up, you really need everything else in your audio chain to be at another level. Otherwise, what is the point..... And if someone can splurge 20-50K on turntabe /tonearm, I doubt they would go for something like Denon 103R (legendary budget MC) or IMO a great value in higher up MC line, Ortofon's Cadenza Blue. Oh no, no no. They will go all out.Up to the stage that some who can afford it spend on a cartridge more than we mere mortals spend on the whole system …
But we're stepping into territory where money is no object or obstacle. I'm sure quality they get to enjoy out of their setup is outstanding.
Yes, I mentioned it somewhere as one of pet peeves I have with direction LP market is heading.Good and bad with the resurgence of Vinyl, more titles than ever to chose from but the price tags ?
It was 84/85 when I made the switch to purchasing CD’s, back then a Vinyl album was $14.99 and early release CD’s were nudging $30,
prices settled a little with supply at $20-25 for a normal new release,
Now a new release CD is seldom over $20 and Vinyl anywhere from two to three times that … browsing in the remaining few local record stores it always seems to be the younger ones going through the Vinyl on offer which I guess is a good thing long term, and that alongside the quality achievable from Vinyl for “starter” dollars, one of the new budget Audio Techinica decks is going to be miles ahead of streaming audio and likely outperform a CD player cf similar cost ..
looking back my turntable then was a Modest Ariston Q deck .. around $500 and a decent Sony TA-E77ES preamp, and even one off the best of its time Arcam Transport/Dac combo’s still couldn’t match the sound of a good vinyl pressing …
took over 35 years for “perfect sound forever” …
And to be clear. I don't mind paying extra for great art work, extras, packaging, premium vinyl formula, pressing quality and amazing mastering work. But when those wannabes, put out dirty, cheap, amateurish quality vinyl at prices just slightly lower than the best in the businesses, it offends me. And does a huge disservice to vinyl community and those who are just getting into vinyl and can't tell the difference between variables between titles that look exactly the same but come from totally different source.
I would also encourage anyone to sign up to as many labels, artist's newsletter list etc to get special deals and discounts. It can safe you quite a bit over time. And lastly. If you see new release that you like it thinking about but you're on the fence, don't wait. Bc it will be gone soon and prices will jump exponentially on 2nd hand marker.
Especially when CDs start taking over. It almost seemed like it was in their best interest to degrade vinyl quality to boost up justification for new format. Let's be honest. Same labels were behind CDs and LPs. They pushed new tech and they pushed it hard.But look at the quality of those 84/85 pressings!