Phono cartridges turn your vinyl into music, and every cartridge performs differently. For your cartridge to work at its best, you must match it with a tonearm that allows it to work at its full potential. If you do your homework, your new phono cartridge will be money well-spent. If not, you wasted your money. I remember buying my first Shure cartridge and loving every minute with it. Being young and reckless, I wanted more (who doesn't?). I switched to a much more expensive Empire cartridge, thinking more money meant more happiness. To my disappointment, my system took a giant step backward and caused me to return to my Shure and beg for forgiveness. Sure, it was only $75, but that was a lot of money back then, and I learned a vital lesson: never assume a cartridge will work with a tonearm. Do your homework and make sure the math works. Don't worry too much about the math. We are experts who can ensure that any cartridge you are interested in will work with whatever tonearm you use. Trust us—just ask my Shure cartridge.