Why is the price of new tonearms so high

Dear Perrew/Syntax: As Peterayer with good sensitivity posted I can't disclosure the whole design but I can speak a little on some highlights/goals in the tonearm design.

Why exist too many different tonearms designs out there? which is the target on each one? unipivots, gimbal, pivoted or linear tracking ? same cartridge in different tonearm design sounds/perform different: why?

trying to have answers to these and other tonearm related questions makes Guillermo and me to investigate about and so was interesting/learning and emotive what we found that we decided to intent our self tonearm design with very specific targets.

As Dertonarm posted somewhere the first tonearm design steps ( mainly on tonearm geometry. ) are really easy to have on paper and develop but the right geometry is only a " routine " tonearm design step.

I learn through the years running several different tonearms and several different cartridges that the matching between a tonearm and the cartridge is of critical importance to the cartridge can show us at its best and I'm nt refering only to match the tonearm/cartridge resonance frequency match but a real match between the behavior of the tonearm and the behavior of the cartridge: this relationship is extremely complex for say the least and that's why ( till today ) there is no single tonearm ( any kind ) out there where we can say: this is a Universal tonearm.

What means a UNIVERSAL tonearm design?, well a dream come true tonearm design where any cartridge and I mean any cartridge ( MC/MM ) ALWAYS can show us its best quality performance like in no other vintage/current tonearm designs.

Well, this was/is our main target/goal when more than three years ago we start in our tonearm design.
A very ambitious target that when I think on it again makes me think we were really " crazy " trying to achieve an almost impossible target.

All the tonearms that I own and many more that come borrowed by my audio friends help us to test more than 100 cartridges ( MM/MC. The last two MC were the Air Tight PC-1 Supreme and the Koetsu Coral. ) that in different conditions and in those tests confirm that we achieve our main target: a UNIVERSAL tonearm, yes we did it the tonearm ( still with out name ) makes that any cartridge performs better by a wide margin against any other tonearm.

We almost finish our last prototype and right now I'm testing in deep the " infrastructure " that between other things makes this UNIVERSAL tonearm the most user-friendly tonearm ever: it comes with a unique VTA on the fly and with a unique arm lift mechanism, we cope with all the geometry and desirable mechanism/parameter/factor you can imagine on a tonearm design, yes is a pivoted one, 250mm on effective length, its main build material is a propietary/patent blend material, self mounting, etc, etc.

Yes Syntax this is the newest tonearm where I'm playing and ejoying like in no other time each cartridge that I mount on it.

I have no words ( new words ) to describe its NEUTRAL quality performance, IMHO no one of you can even imagine how a cartridge performs in our tonearm design ( this is a totally new experience that we really can't imagine before we made the very first test!!!!! ): even we are a little on " surprise " about its performance.

Through the design time I have a lot of new experiences for example: if you read in the MM long thread I posted in the thread ( right in the thread ) that the AT-20SS cartridge was a very difficult cartridge to mate with a tonearm and find the right set-up well three weeks ago I mounted for the first time in our tonearm prototype and guess what?: immediately works and performs like ever in a simple way and with out " fighting " with the set-up.

Other example: with cartridges that due to its characteristics put the resonance frequency below 8Hz and over 12Hz the quality performance were just splendid like if that resonance ( out of target ) figure was of no importance at all!!!

We don't know yet the precise date for the tonearm goes to the " light but I think this could be in other two-three months maybe a little longer.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

You're going well Daniel.........but I didn't mean for you to be cryptic with your knowledge?
Give us the full Detonarm information ego....... just a little less of the dogma?
Tcheuss Henry

Dear Henry, can't do that right now - if I did I would make a strong and detailed remark about the phrase "universal tonearm" and would show that this is a contradiction in terms.

Just out of curiosity - while I am in my TT project I will demonstrate my concept about a pivot tonearm too.
Kind of side-show.
Maybe we will see the mexican born tonearm first, but mine will be published shortly after.
It won't take me years, - can't, since I always claimed it is fairly simple and easy.
I will address those points all the "others" haven't even thought about before.
That tonearm will not work with ALL cartridges, but it will work with the 20-30 best.
It will not work and can't be mounted on all TT's - but it will work and can be mounted on the best.
And it will show that all my former remarks about the topic were made for good reason.
The very best is never universal.
A tonearm - even with adjustable moving mass and interchangeable armwands - can never suit all cartridges.
The tonearm is always part of a spring-mass-system were it forms only one part of that system.

Is there a universal cartridge?
Is there a universal car?
Is there a universal plane?

Trying to make a tonearm universal or claim it is shows big enthusiastic pride about a product/component, but shows a basic lack of..........

We'll see.
Halcro ..... you wanted me to give an acid test.
We'll have it.
Good sports.

Cheers,
D.

Oh this gets better and better, two new fantastic arms to choose from, my TT can mount two....

And now the ten thousand dollar question, whats the price of those arms Raul and Dertonarm?

Hi Pär, Raul's will be a market product.
Mine will only be available for a few selected audiophiles - but I will nevertheless publish the tonearm.
As I said - kind of the long requested "acid test" (... and I will proof, that it will withstand even aqua regia ).
The big problem is - this is one thing I guess Raul and I agree upon - that you can't put an "all-assault"-top flight component to the market today with a price tag lower than the competition.
If a new Top-high-end tonearm is introduced and his price tag is half of the big Continuum, new DaVinci, Air Tangent (still around ?) etc. - no one will take it seriously.
In other words: you introduce the "best universal tonearm" ( NOT my words...) to the market and put a retail price tag on it of US$3890,-.
There are hundreds of potential buyers on this planet who won't take it seriously and will not even consider buying it to test.
No matter how fancy the cosmetics - no matter if its coming in a cherished antique finish wooden presentation box with gold plated dressings.
You put a price tag of US$20 000,- on the very same tonearm and you will sell 3 dozens to the far east market (and to Russia...) in the first 3 weeks.
Why ?
Because with this price tag the tonearm does transport a huge image, status and "face" to its buyer.

Strange new (not really...) world....

Cheers,
D.

P.S.: don't blame me now if R's tonearm comes with a very serious price tag...... its the market and the human nature who are to blame.