@drbond I have posted many times in the past about certain individuals involved with Audio Equipment seemingly having developed a Behavioural Addiction, where obsession has become the driving force of the interest.
Obsession being a out of harmony balance and an over interest to varying degrees, especially to the place where the obsessional thought will be the thought that Supersedes all others, can typically be seen to manifest through the presence leaving a very difficult place for the individual more balanced on the subject of Audio Equipment to communicate.
Your Thread has started with your inquisitive request to understand how a Tonearm design can influence the sonic produced and which designs are seen as the betterment over others.
The reality is there isn't a best or worse, as there are too many variables to influence the end sound that has very little to do with the TA design or Materials used to produce it.
All Tonearms born from a Particular discipline for the design and build will assist the correct choice of Cart' to replay music to a very high audible quality.
To have a reality check, the Amygdala is the part of the brain that rewards for audible exposure in a particular environment, as long as the sound produced is a stimulus emotion and reward are produced, it is this only that is the bias for selecting a good experience or not so good experience.
The math helps for the designs produced but is not the 'be all and end all', it is the how the Amygdala creates a chemistry and neurone activity that is the stimulus to encourage behaviour that is wanting more of what is experienced, which can for many become an unbalanced and overexposed experience, manifesting as a addictive behaviour.
Interestingly, it is the same for those who abuse themselves through overexposure to the Web and endless exposure to Phone Media Data, the overindulgence is an addictive behaviour, one that is formed from bombarding the Amygdala with a sensory overload, through an excess of reactions being created to content being observed.
Such endless exposure is a Trauma to the Limbic System.
