Basis Super Arm 9

Both Basis arms are excellent. They are not true unipivot arms. They are "Bipivot" arms. Torsion is controlled by a second bearing. They are neutral balance arms but their vertical bearings are above record level which means wart wow will be a little worse.  The question for xagwell is will the Superarm 9 make a significant sonic improvement? I certainly think it is a better arm by design as it is obviously stiffer. It's effective mass is probably a little bit higher just to look at it which might eliminate the most compliant cartridges.(no big deal) It is a better looking arm so pride in ownership will be better. But, I do not believe there will be an improvement in sonic performance worth the price. For what it is worth the Superarm 9 has a spindle to pivot distance of 222 mm, the Rega standard. It was in contention for me as it will fit on a Sota Turntable. I chose the Schroder CB. It also has a 222 mm spindle to pivot distance. Why? It is a better value. Because it has less peripheral mass it has a lower polar moment of inertia meaning it will follow record undulations better. It is also a neutral balance arm with the vertical bearing at the level of the record. Warp wow will be at a minimum. It has a frictionless antiskating device, the Superarm 9 does not. IMHO it has better bearings although that is arguable. It will fit on the 2800 a very nice turntable. Would the CB make a noticeable difference in sound quality? Probably not. These are all excellent arms. 

@dover , You bet I have! I live right around the corner from Basis. I have been there on several occasions and almost bought one of their turntables. My best friend has a Basis Debut with a Graham arm and was thinking of getting the Superarm 9. Has not made up his mind yet because he is having trouble with the cost to benefit ratio. The Basis is certainly a better arm than his Graham. The Vector is also better. So you can go ....... My opinion holds. Not only is it not worth the cost but the Schroder CB is a better arm at a much better price.

 I am sorry that you are unable to make intelligent evaluations on the design of tonearms but you do not have to take it out on others that can. Tonearms are not magic. They have to obey certain laws to function properly. These are well known and open to anyone who cares to study them.

@dover, the Superarm 9 was on what I think was a 2802 with a Vector on the other position. They both had a My Sonic Labs cartridge but I'm not sure which models. They may have been the same cartridge. I could not hear a difference beyond a slight difference in gain. As for the comparison with a Schroder CB, I have not had them in the same room together on the same system with the same cartridge so I can not say if there is a sonic difference or not. The Schroder is a better arm by design. Frank Schroder may be the preeminent tonearm designer a this moment. I have already highlighted the differences between the Superarm 9 and the CB which is not even Schroder's best tonearm. Mark Dohmann demonstrates the Helix with a CB. Peter Ledermann is having Schroder design an arm specifically for Soundsmith. Then if you consider that the Superarm 9 costs $17 large and the CB $5000 then there is no contest. An arm is no good if very few of us can afford it. I had several discussions with AJ and I would bet if he were still alive he would tell me to get the Vector 4, the Superarm being a waste of money. He was up there with Peter Ledermann as a great guy and good friends with David Fletcher (founder of SOTA and Sumiko) The Debut was indeed a fancy expensive version of David's design a design that SME eventually copied. I actually prefer the Debut to Basis's current line. It's suspension is inherently more stable but it is more expensive and difficult to make. AJ probably rolled over in his grave when they changed the design.