Whats the most one would shelve out on a cartridge

[Vrajbasi]

Yep, Do your homework, communicate with the seller and ask those important questions ie: hours, why selling etc.
You'll have a real sense of whether to pounce or walkaway

It can be very daunting on one occasion I purchased an expensive Clearaudio Goldfinger used while sounded ok as owner very seemed genuine i decided to send to goldring for an inspection and clean up got a report saying badly set up by original owner and heavy traces of wear and some suspension issues.

The hardest is with koetsu cartridges the models have been around so so long and how many have only had only 200 hours use plus expensive to have service by the manufacturer. A bit easier with say a VDH as a bit more cost effective to service if you do get unlucky. I generally prefer to by new the uncertainty can be a bit much plus as I have a few overall they dont get used much.

Too be honest I would rather by a lesser cartridge new after some of my previous experiences but thats just me.

I have used expert stylus etc to retip etc while good not quite the same in my opinion.

[Crackles]

I'm no expert but play / wear of bearings is one thing addressed.
Also tonearm wire can be tight or hindering movement of the arm.
Mine was re-wired and upgraded with hybrid ceramic bearings. During that work it was discovered that the arm was bent so there you go.

Thanks, might have to get mine looked at one of these days.

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[Spectral Morn]

I think many High End carts are best looked at as being functional works of art, jewelery of a sort.

Most expensive cart I bought was a VDH Frog Gold, before that a Lyra Clavis, VDH MC10 and Ortofon MC2000mk2.

Others carts I have are as result of swaps and the like.

[sq225917]

Tonearm service, get a uni you plonkers

[steve-z]

Cartridges are probably the piece of the Hifi chain where the law of diminishing returns kicks in the quickest. If the OP is worried about fragility and stylus wear then buy an inexpensive but good sounding robust MM that doesn't cost a lot to replace when it wears out or gets damaged, the AT95E springs to mind as fitting the bill, sounding much better than a cartridge so cheap would be expected to sound. Personally I'd never spend more than £200 on a cartridge, at that price I have an ATF7 moving coil which sounds as good as, if not better than any cartridge I've owned in the last 40 years (and I've had quite a few)


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[Vrajbasi]

The problem is majority of Moving Coil cartridges dont sound any good just thin and bright may be thats what people want (not me) you can spend loads and get little. I have spent a fortune learning the hard way, moving magnets in the more affordable sector are a better bet generally. Sadly the likes of the Audio Technica at170ml shure ultra 500 and the good old technics are thing of the past. At least we still have some nice spu cartridges available to us. There are still some great human sounding moving coils around but cost a arm and a leg. I dont find spending but something for it.

[Jac Hawk]

The problem is majority of Moving Coil cartridges dont sound any good just thin and bright

I think the problem (if you can call it that) with MC carts is you need to consider much more than just getting it and setting it up, a decent phono stage or SUT that suits the cart is just as important and the combination will either have you grinning from ear to ear or have you ready to throw yourself off a bridge, that fact is something not as pronounced with MM carts as all amps with phono input will be MM and most of them will give an acceptable account of themselves.

[Natara]

I remember swallowing hard when I paid £100 for a brand new Denon 110 it seemed like a lot at the time since then all of my cartridges have been bought and sold on the used market and I've only slipped up once I paid £125 for an AT OC9 Mk1 that was all but worn out but I still got a couple of months out of it and may one day look into retipping it.
The most that I have ever spent was £450 for a Dynavector £20x2L that really was like new but that is about my limit.

[Mike Reed]

I have a Mysonic Platinum and £8500 on loan does sound good but trying my best to resist

That's a new one on me, and at that level, too(stone bodied K level+). I'd be interested in what you're listening to it on, as your collection of exotica is a bit left field, to say the least ! A global pick 'n' mix relative to my homespun stuff.

[cuddles]

I wonder if the best way to go is to concentrate the funds on the phono stage in order to get the best out of whatever cartridge you are using. I'm edging towards this conclusion after comparing MMs and MCs up to around £400. I really think that maxing out the performance with a MM cartridge is the future for me.

At the moment I'm using a used Audio Technica PTG/11. I see they retail new at around £479 and as much as I like it I don't think I'd shell out that much for a new one.