Tonearms: Ripoff?

@elizabeth My choice of arms and cartridges has been listed here many times in different threads even with pictures, everyone who read this section of the forum is well know what i’m using and what i like when it comes to cartridges and tonearms. Even earlier in this thread i have described my philosophy (of choosing equipment). You have nothing special in your system, just good modern high-end as i can see, also you don’t use $50k tonearms and $20k cartridges, so you’re "normal", that’s good news.

I know people who can buy $12 000 record in VG condition to play on $100 turntable. I know many record collectors from all over the world, the rarity of the record is much more important for them than equipment. $300 for a rare 45 is an average price for them on auction or privately, but the "best" equipment they got is old SL1200mk2 with some worn conical styli (all for $300 on used market) connected to cheap dj mixer and a pair of crappy active monitors or average speakers. The value of their record collection is over million dollars, they don’t care about equipment, they are all about the music, believe it or not. Some of them are living in Japan where it’s much easier to find and buy some amazing audio equipment, but they don’t care. I know what i’m talking about, it’s not a fantasy.

At the same time the majority of the rich audiophiles with the most expensive systems are playin utterly bad music, and what the dealers playin at the high-end shows is rubbish, you can go from one showroom to another and all you can hear will be Diana Krall (same song). The new trend is to play some awful electronic music. Some of those elitist audiophiles have no taste as i said. Some of the most expensive modern equipment is simply the uglies design ever, so the designers have no taste too. The prices are insane.

Well, this is my private opinion, not to offend anyone.

+1
rauliruegas8,955 posts11-05-2018 5:03pmDear @madavid0: What needs a good cartridge from the tonearm?:

- pretty decent bearing ( it does not needs the " hardest " one. ) design.
- very well damped
- first rate (silver ) internal wiring with very best ( silver ) female cartridge connectors.
- accurate and user friendly cartridge/tonearm protractor.
- precise VTA/SRA/VTF, scating and AZ mechanisms
- non-unipivot design.

OP
 Rauliruegas nicely answered your question.  
The first few items he mentioned remove things like vibration (damped tube ) and heat (bearing ) and so allow for clearer sound (wiring/precise setting) and more consistent playback over the years. 

Like most  everything in this hobby it's a question of improving the weakest link. If you have a high end table and cartridge you'll hear more improvements from a better tonearm than if the other parts are so so. 
Another variable is that some cartridges need higher or lower mass tonearms. Audio dealer can help with all that. 
Good luck!

madavid0
"Now let's take two tonearms, the Audiomods V and the Durand Kairos. The price difference is very large, easily around 500-600%. Now, from an audio perofmance perspective is there a meaningful difference? How much better does the Kairos sound -- 100%, 50%, 10%, 2% ? Assuming both arms are well-matched to the cartridge in question, IS THE KAIROS A RIPOFF?"

I guess the discussion here is price verse value 
or in the audiophile world price verse improvement .
The cost of equipment verse the improvement can be viewed as a 
mathematical curve called a parabola where the cost factor 
is  the x and the improvement is the y ,
as the x increases the y increases at a much great rate not a 1 to 1
ratio .
Each of us has to decide how much we can spend to get that 
next bit of improvement RIP OFF  no,  just more and more expensive
to get the last little bit of improvement .

One solution for all of us is to Buy Used from the " Haves ",
they are NOT ruining it for all of us , they are making it available for all of us either directly with used equipment or indirectly by buying top of the line equipment that gives manufactures the resources for trickle down technology .


NKONOR ?
So other than your 2 cents attack on me ,
Do you think  that the money you have spent on your system
is a RIP OFF ? because that is the question !

My 2 cents 

I found this forum interesting because the Audiomods V reviewed here http://www.sixmoons.com/audioreviews/audiomods/4.html is compared to an SME (I didn't catch which one, or not specified).   It was very clear as to the differences and most audiophiles would prefer the SME.  However, it was also noted that improving the internal wiring and the counterweight brought superior results to a stock unit and cartridge matching also provided further enjoyment.  So, the Audiomods V is a very fine and potentially, high end tonearm.  

I was fortunate to purchase an SME IV in 1989 for $1100.  The bearings are not ABEC 3 or 5 supposedly.  It sounds great with a Lyra or Benz cartridge on a VPI TNT VI mod.  The current price is about $4300.  I am not willing to spend a lot more unless I receive a lot more enjoyment from a newer, better arm.  It is also a reliable arm with over 13,000 hours on it.  Well worth the money over time.  I considered an SME V and a Triplanar.  I have an Ultracraft 400c on my VPI 19 for 78 rpm use.  I'm not as fond of the unipivot with variable damping although it appears to work great with a Grado 78 cartridge and minimal damping.

In my opinion vintage Technics EPA 500 with optimized arm tubes and the magnetic damper are unbeatable if in good condition. Getting hard to find!