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Supatrac: the world's best tonearm?

Richard,

You need three Burmese cats……then you would truely appreciate being able to play the Sondek with the lid closed! :D:D:D:D:D

OTOH, it does look good on the “Old Fruitbox” - will you bring it along to Ascot?
 
I am not sure that I will do Ascot this year. My controller has concluded that I have been doing too many shows and not enough sweat-shop work in the last 15 months, and now that Munich is over we have agreed a moratorium on shows except in special circumstances. Special circumstances could include shipping all orders so the order book is up to date.

I am making progress with my listening room in central London, and we expect more dealers to be able to dem soon.
 
sonddek said:
My controller…..
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Ah, understood.

Central London is interesting as both me and my “Comptroller of the Household Finances” go to London frequently on Cat Sitting duty at Daughter#2 (in fact my DB is off up t’smoke tomorrow for five days!).
 
I have never really understood the desire to play a record with the dustcover/lid even on the turntable let alone closed. Surely it must act as an amplifier for the vibrations being produced by the speakers and then feed back into the deck ?

I always used to remove mine from my LP12 before any listening session and only replace it when I had finished.
 
It is not desire it is practicality. With cats in the house there is always some fur floating around and I feel more relaxed thinking that fur won't fall on the LP while playing. And if I am more relaxed then the sound will be better with the lid on, even if it isn't. The lid cannot uniformly 'amplify' airborne vibrations though it could resonate and exacerbate certain frequencies. Maybe the lid doesn't absorb much energy from the air and what it does goes into the plinth instead of directly to the platter/arm/cartridge. Dunno, but I won't experiment for the reason given. Also, I have panel speakers and my LP12 is placed at the dipole null so the direct acoustic feedback is probably 1/10th, or lower, than that of a normal domestic arrangement.
 
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Actually your pics clarify that as the arm progresses towards the end of the record the rear undercarriage swing is some distance from the right side of the dust cover so should happily play to the end.
I must admit I never thought height would be an issue, I guess it isn’t if the lifting pipe cleaner is limp! (Poor choice of words I know!)
Have you considered a lightweight square plate with a traditional finger lift that could be placed between the cartridge and the arm tube. Think a simplified version of the old SME silver finger lift that came with their series 2?

Please note, not being critical here, this is a great achievement and as such needs to be celebrated. If funds ever allow I’ll be seeking out a demo.
 
Every SUPATRAC arm sold since Blackbird serial number one has included a rigid finger lift. It is depicted on the web site here: https://supatrac.com/#fingerlift . I have pointed this out on every online discussion, and it has been mentioned in almost all the reviews.

The pictures above intend to show that the Nighthawk will complete a full LP side on a Sondek without touching a closed lid. Sorry if I haven't made all this clear.
 
13th Duke of Wymbourne said:
And here is what can happen if you don't play with a dust cover

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Blackbird at Axpona — Postimages

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:)
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Shows are unusually dusty. I think it's all the cardboard boxes and the incessant opening and closing of exhibit room doors. Also at Axpona the CAT muscle tube amps could really get the rear reflex ports pumping and the curtains were visibly flapping 18 inches behind the OePhi standmounts.

But you're right - a good lid can protect the record and deck from airborne feedback and dust. I'm very happy to find that the Nighthawk fits even though I relaxed that requirement. I can't wait to hear a Nighthawk on my Sondek.
 
That picture came from an Audio Asylum inmate who took a raft of shots at Axpona and I was amazed at how much equipment looked manky - covered in dust and fingerprints. The SAT turntable looked awful. I think strong lighting from flash and filming really shows it up where you might not notice it so much in ambient lighting. I saw the same in Fremer's coverage - he should carry a duster with him and give people the opportunity of a quick clean-up before he films.
 
Earlier in this thread I suggested that overseas buyers may have to pay import duties. Our shipping documents now include the harmonised code 8522.10.00 which means that in most cases there will be no import duties to pay at destination. Overseas prices are therefore normally the UK retail price less VAT (5/6 of UK price) and shipping fee. HTH.
 
Michael Fremer's day 3 coverage of Munich High End draws attention to the new SUPATRAC "Blackhawk". He does of course mean Nighthawk.
 
Another Munich High End sighting of the Nighthawk in the CH Precision / Vienna Acoustics / Grand Prix Audio / SUPATRAC room at 2:22:40:


A big thank you to Greg of Qualio who always makes terrific videos of the shows and who also makes fantastic-sounding and very attractive speakers.
 
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