What does a tonearm contribute to the sound of a turntable?

Don’t get sidetracked into a Vinyl vs Digital vs Tape debate... that was not the OP ?

actually you can pick a low resonance arm/cartridge system ( and they are indeed a system and yes compliance and mass matter ) by listening with no volume....

Great bearings that last and stay great for the lifecycle of the arm are imo essential.

OP that FT-3 is no slouch, let me know IF it needs a home. On a SOTA Sapphire it can be formidable, but that’s another thread..,

@tomic601 Yes, the FT-3 was a great tonearm. I just wanted something different. PM me if you'd like to make an offer and I can give you details and pictures.

The best demonstration of how important a tonearm is in musical presentation was recently demonstrated to me when I acquired a TT capable of having dual tonearms mounted simultaneously . I moved what I knew to be a very good arm to the new table and it already had a current top of the line one from the same manufacturer. Each arm’s individual strengths became noticeable as i rotated my Ortofon, Kiseki, and Koetsu cartridges between them. No matter the cartridge the better arm created a better presentation of the musical experience.

Drrsutliff, exactly my point.

So those of you with the ethos on this: I have the Jelco 750EB coupled with a Hana SL cartridge. Compliance complementary?