Anyone notice different amounts of surface noise with different arms?

I had to he same thought as Raul, after reading that you hear no difference between analog and digital RIAA filtering, because you’re signal is in the digital domain AFTER RIAA correction. That added processing might obliterate differences that would otherwise be audible. Of course there’s also the possibility that there is no audible difference between analog and digital RIAA correction. Quien sabe?

Do you mean “the same cartridge in different tonearms”? Such differences are not subtle even assuming the unlikely case of perfect alignment. This experience causes me to believe there is no such thing as a tonearm that adds nothing to the sound.