Why the sudden popularity of 12 inch arms

All else being equal, a 12" inch arm should be better than a 9" arm (who can argue with more inches is better, guys?). The trouble is, there is no way to make all else equal.

it is a matter of designers making their choice of tradeoffs. But, to say that one aspect of design, specifically length, is so important that a long arm is inherently superior, as someone mentioned that Roy Gregory has suggested, I don't buy.

Larryi- you nailed it. All designs are compromises. Even "cost no object" designs. As Larry says, a longer arm is always heavier, all else being equal. We can change the arm tube material, or wall thickness,etc., , but then its not the same as the shorter arm.

Zieman- your posts are entertaining, but you don't seem to be able to actually carefully read others. The whole disc/drum analogy is that, (with the exception of truly breakthrough technologies), implementation of any design is usually more important. And I would truly prefer to have a well executed mature design than a first gen more advanced design with flaws and/or low cost materials. Perhaps that's part of the reason why Guarinis and Strativerii (sp?) fetch "a bit" more than current Yamaha violins. Newer sometimes is better, but not always. Non-quantitative (= design execution) factors may be more important in artistic (=music) endeavors than quantitative (= SOTA design) factors.

And of course with vinyl playback, there are so many interactive components involved, I think I fall in Raul's camp...Not on shorter is better (insert your own filthy leering comment here) but on, and I am paraphrasing, its the system. A tone arm/cart/TT/phonostage is a system that can be optimized, but I'm not so sure any one component can be optomized in isolation. My $0.02. YMMV, and if id does, then so be it.

BTW, I would suggest canning the xenophobic remarks. This forum benefits from viewpoints from all cultures.

Z, why would I want the Thriller re-issue?. I have the original!! nice bass sound on some of the tracks as well :-)

re hifi+ pdf. I'll search the article out and email.

So who was the guy who found 18 ton-arms floating down the river?? I am waiting for the punchline

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Moerch arms which are probably the best candidates for testing 9" vs. 12". You can easily swap a Red 9" wand for a Red 12" wand, and the mass will be the same. The only difference is the length. Something obviously must be different if they have the same mass. Thinner wall thickness perhaps or less damping, I don't know. However, they are certainly made with the same design and materials as well as wiring and mechanical connections. Unfortunately, I have never made the comparison myself. All of my experience with the Moerch has been with the 12" Red wand, which sounds very good but I prefer the 9" Triplanar VII. That proves nothing of course.

Dave

Downunder, I know you were away, you missed some entertaining stuff. I too have gennies, plus a Mastersound half speed or two. This new one is way good. I had to open another sealed original to check in with myself. There is info on the new one I have not heard before. Serious!
Swampy, how about we count how many Yamahas are out there vs. Strats. Or, as an option, how many 300 year old trees we could cut down and send to Yamaha? Can you say supply and demand? You sir, might want to read a little more. You might also want to go price a new SOTA piano some day (!) vs used. I picked disc vs drum knowing (silly me) there was nobody left on the planet clueless enough to actually prefer them. There is indeed a compromise to cost no object items; THE COST. Perhaps this is why you eschew them? There is a tremendous amount of genuine progress regarding material(s) one can use to make stuff going on, at this moment. News on the subject is easy to find, just look. "You could try it!" This research would, however, cut in on forum pontificating time. Another compromise?
Salectric picked just one example where you are also in the wrong camp with this "always" idea. The world was always flat too, until it wasn't. Was it flat UNTIL it was accidently circumnavigated? I wonder? I am glad we are gathering up all the non-technical here. I can do one on one, but I like to reach whole groups if at all possible. To be continued... Z.

Two quick points(less than 1000 words) about the "better thing",and live music exposure..."my take only"(God how I like how that gets me off the hook).
Firstly,there can be a real benefit to hearing superior equipment,even if one is not planning to make a major purchase.Here,the "active" and "thinking" hobbyist has the oppurtunity to realize that "part" of the superior performance may be achieved with a bit more attention to some parameters our own system might be able to pull off.Like a bit more tweakery,or something as simple as better tubes,or those cute(and effective )HiFi Tuning fuses.Even attention to clean connections,or resonance control etc,etc, obviously can move us up the ladder.I've surprised myself many times(even if looking in a mirror-:)
You DO have to really know your set-up,and be a hands on guy!Also,make the attempt to hear alot of stuff.
The other point,where I am at odds with the "must hear real/live music regularly" camp is....You only have to know what live music sounds like!!...You will do far better,IMO,if you expose yourself to the "best systems"!
Here,the "obvious weaknesses" in our own set-ups more easily stands out,because we just KNOW that live music is not going to be easily reproduced in our lifetimes,with a stereo system!!To hear a "better system" though,and if you are a good and open minded listener(not a rationalizer, where you believe that everything you have is the best,anyway...I've got friends like "this"),AND willing to actually "think through" some of the perceptions of the "why" it sounds better,you stand a real chance to improve your current set-up...Whew,I think that was a run on sentence.
Hearing my friend Sid's suped up Air Tangent rig started me on this route,as I ultimately became acutely aware that the little annoyances that peeved me,in my own rig,was "groove" related."That" was the exact moment(a few years ago)when I rolled up my sleeves,on my old Graham 2.2 and learned it's hidden secrets.Quite a few,actually!Like this thing is a pain in the ass to voice perfectly,but it was so much fun "learning"!
Best.