Well, no, money is no guarantee of sound quality ... but ... hmmm ... if it wasn't my money at risk, and I had to choose one or I'd lose an index finger ... would I choose a $10k DAC, one which presumably sounds no better, and perhaps identical, to any other decent $500 DAC, or ... a $10K cartridge that, by virtue of better construction/part quality alone (+lower moving mass), offers my entire library of LP's far more potential sound quality compared to any $500 cart? Well, carts don't last forever, but hopefully, my finger does ...
Can't wait to hear what Fremer will have to say, "lifted 10,000 veils -------")
In the $10K cartridge article in which he supplied the rips below, he simply allowed for comparison, no such silly poetry ...
Below is the right channel (unscaled) plots from two of Fremer latest rips, both taken from a recent Classic re-master; compared to the re-mastered CD and my 1976 re-issue. Fremer ripped two different ~10k carts, both with diamond cantilevers.
(Note: These particular Fremer rips includes a ~$28K SAT tonearm. More over indulgence perhaps, but in terms of a historical perspective, (compared to his prior rips), this arm -alone - has improved his rips x10fold (which conversely; doesn't say much about his previous rips/system/setup quality, but again IMO)).
re-mastered CD(Pink), Fremer(Brown/Purple), TB1(Red) ...
CD (re-mastered) DR channel: 8.61 dB --- 9.51 dB
Fremer(Proteus) DR channel: 11.67 dB --- 12.44 dB
Fremer(CAR60) DR channel: 11.72 dB --- 12.18 dB
TB1(1976 re-issue) DR channel: 13.10 dB --- 12.61 dB
The CD, in comparison to my rip, sounds obviously compressed and much louder. That said, the CD offers far more weight in the lower octaves, and is brighter in tonality. The CD superior frequency response doesn't help it much in reality, it's so damn compressed, I can't listen to it at even moderated volume, yet another (in a long long line) of 90's overly compressed re-masters, void of "audiophile" value. Fremer's rips make my rips sound
muted by comparison, "vails lifted". IMS, they absolutely destroy the re-mastered CD in terms of overall listenability.
Now, don't get me wrong, the real difference above is perhaps less system orientated, and much more influenced by each specific mastering. Classic records have a history of lifting the frequency extremes, and I suspect this is exactly what's happening here. So perhaps, even a good $1k cart would track/sound the same given the exact same pressing ... but that said, this is easily the best I've heard the track Bargain(Who's Next) by quite a large margin, in any format.
Nothing here to surprise in any case, it plays right into the luxury goods marketing plan of high end audio. The more things cost the better they sound, at least that is what will be reported by the media. The manufacturers and retailers percentage cut will increase and the more the media is able to charge for advertising. A viscous circle of commerce that has become modus operandi of today high end, one where there's no limit to how rediculos you can set the top level of pricing as long as the media will continue to support it.
With carts, cost should be defined by the material and construction. Diamonds don't come cheap ...