Why are modern arms so ugly?

To say that the Cobra/Copperhead designs have all been done before displays a cynicism or ignorance which is not shared by other arm designers.
We may as well say all pivoted tonearms do the same job and use principles of engineering and construction in various combinations?
Same for cartridges, turntables, amplifiers and speakers.
Move along.....no discussion here....nothing to see.
Oh....and no carbon fibre was hurt in the making of these arms :-)

Apparently, no one bought it for its looks first. When you look on their site, it says it was designed with the help of software. They design aircraft that way. Then the test pilot gets to see if it does fly, and it seems to work. Same goes for new buildings, plus who know what else. So it seems to have worked here too.

Halcro -
Dont intend to be cynical, but your criteria was "advanced the art and science". You said if an arm does not meet this criteria it is not of interest.
Can someone please explain how the Continuum arms have advanced the science. That is my question. What do you think are the breakthrough design concepts that are unique or new that have been introduced to tonearm science from the design, development and production of the Continuum arms.

Dover,
Look at the shape and materials used in the arm construction and tell me it looks like all the other tonearms produced today?
To say it is similar to those plastic arms of the 50s is fatuous.
Look at the unipivot design with a stabilising pivot on a sapphire jewelled swash plate to maintain stability.
Look at the total lack of headshell?
Look at the cam-weighted anti-skate designed to increase as the arm moves inwards.
Look at the jewel-encapsulated unipivot.
Look at the tonearm wiring exiting from the top of the arm and how it's supported on a stainless steel hoop frame to avoid any pressure on the arm movement.
Look at the azimuth adjustment utilising the actual swash-plate?
Look at the ability (with the Copperhead) to have additional armwands which can be substituted complete with their fixed cartridges?
Look at the counterweight system design with its placement so far below the level of the turntable platter?
And finally.......listen to the results!
To say any one of these elements has been used before negates the fact that there is a vocabulary of successful design principles which is fairly
limited in regards to choice?
If you don't agree that the Cobra/Copperhead designs have advanced the state of the art then that is your prerogative.
Please provide an example of an arm that in your opinion does for us to analyse

Dear Dover, if you wait a few months, you can answer Halcro's last question with much more ease ....;-) .....
Cheers,
D.