Tonearms: Ripoff?

Same old positions as usual on this thread, as on the thread I started about the cartridge nightmare. Plenty of people who don’t like the questions and positions posed by the OP ( for whatever biased reasons that they have)- and so they resort to the old retort..you’re a ’troll’. That is so old and weak!

Are tonearms a rip off...yes they are IF they are doing nothing special for the sound, are poorly designed and made, and they are being sold at a huge inflated price. OTOH, IME,most decently designed tonearms are actually either more resolving than what they replace, or more capable in one way or another...bass control, high frequency air and ability to control the cartridge tracking. Unlike cartridges and my OP on the nightmare cartridge thread, I think the opportunity and likelihood of at least hearing a tonearm under consideration is much greater. Leading to a more defined, and in all likelihood, acceptable result once acquired., IMHO.

@edgewear   What you propose makes some sense. It would be an interesting data point for the cartridge and/or arm buyer to relate to. However, it is not solving the issue, and may in fact contribute to more problems...why...because you are assuming that the synergy that you are reporting on, is what the prospective arm and/or cartridge buyer is listening for. That is a matter of taste, and how do we determine if something meets our taste test; if we don't have an opportunity to hear it for ourselves. As was posted on my cartridge nightmare thread, in the old days, we had HP who generally called it as he heard it, and IF you agreed with his thinking on SQ ( which BTW, I did), you had a pretty good idea as to what you were getting. Not ideal by any means, but at least a fairly decent reference point, IMO. Today, unfortunately, we do NOT have such a reviewer of analog...and I do happen to think that MF's reporting is questionable at best....remember he has NEVER heard a piece of gear that he didn't like, so long as the price was high and ever spiraling! 

@orpheus10 Uhmmm...Last time I looked inflation wasn’t on the order of tens of percentage points in a period of just a very few years ( i don't know what country you live in, but certainly not here in the US)...as some of the cartridges in question have risen to.
As an example, the Lyra Etna was priced at $6K when newly released, now it is $8.9K...is that just due to inflation...please do tell!

 @orpheus10 

Right now the Yen dollar exchange is pretty favorable to the dollar...what does that have to do with any of my points about acquiring the cartridges in Japan, except for re-enforcing  them that is! 
Do you actually have any clue as to what these cartridges sell for in Japan...if not I would suggest you do a little research before coming back here.

@lewm where on earth do you get the idea that HP "seemed to prefer the shrill and clinical over the musical"?? HP was IMO one of the few audio writers who called it as he heard it....if he heard it as ’shrill and clinical’ that’s what he wrote, OTOH if he heard it as overly warm and ’musical’ that’s what he stated. HP was one of the first writers to state how great the Benz LPS MR was at the time, flying in the face of many who felt all Benz’ were too warm ( although not to me). Are you telling me that that cartridge is shrill and clinical??

@lewm   The next time you are in Japan, give these guys a visit, and then get back to us:  http://analog.ev.shopserve.jp