Why the sudden popularity of 12 inch arms

Dear speedy, I have been collecting lps for about 30 years. At last count I had over 6000. I quit counting some time ago... I still have the turntable I bought before I bought my first lp. It would be my pleasure to point you to the shelves and say "pick which ever you want" and we will play them. First, on my 30-some year old turntable, that looks and performs better than new, and was "state of the art" 30-some years ago. Then we will play it on something quite new, though SEVERAL rungs down from SOTA. You can tell me/us which one made the music more enjoyable for you. I think I know the answer, and if I'm wrong, you can HAVE the new turntable! How's that?

Zieman,I don't disagree with you at all!!I love SOTA stuff....AND,I hear the difference,like you claim you do!!Surprisingly(maybe to some,like you)I believe that what I have put together in my own dedicated two channel room is close enough to not have to worry about the nuts and bolts for at least "three months"!OK?
BTW,my best audio buddies have non to shabby stuff,ranging from BIG Pipe Dreams,Magico Minis,Big Infinity four tower speakers,CJ ART,etc....I hear the difference,and our little get-togethers OFTEN spill blood,from frequent critical observations......I've made the investment myself,but we STILL split hairs too much.....TOO OFTEN!!....I say,don't stop...but...take a step back,"sometimes"!Well,maybe not you!!OK?
I guess you did not like my Andy Rooney routine-:)
Sorry.

Dear, And I do mean Dear Sirspeedy, I have been in agreement with you all the way through this thread. I too am in it for the music. I offered an answer to the OP early on, and a member with almost no logic or science to support it, offered advice that if followed, would make us all look bad. I responded again, and started getting tons of mail from members (that I had never had contact with!) cheering me on. This gentleman has a system that sounds like, well, Halcro put it best, "second rate". I can almost give the guy credit for being so stubborn, but he is so far off base... In a contest between this fellow and the world (which it seems to be) I'm bettin' on the world. Know what I mean? Anyway, if my house was on fire, I'd get as many LPs as I could FIRST, and leave the gear. Most of which is, arguably, SOTA. BTW, that was a 15,000 dollar turntable you just let get away! You can still come over, any time. Z.

Some people are really impressed by themselves. I could more easily accept it if they were to add something positive to the conversation.

On topic -- I'm in the camp that the best sound is achieved by the implementation of a technology rather than being specific to any given technology. And at the user end, exacting setup, and at least at the high end, system matching can easily trump "better technology". Finally, since any two audiophiles seemingly cannot agree as to what constitutes "the best" does any of this thread really resolve anything?

Dear Shane: What tonearm are looking at?, is it for one of your current cartridges or a new one? or your question is only curiosity.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.