1+ @elliottbnewcombjr. Theoretically, a carbon are can be made stiffer, without the need for more damping materials and most importantly lighter.
Lighter, shorter tonearms with more compliant cartridges sound better. They have a much lower polar moment of inertia. This allows the arm to better follow low frequency undulations in the vinyl lowering distortion. My guess is this is why Michael Fremer prefers a shorter arm and why some tonearm manufacturers like Schroder go out of their way to reduce mass while trying to maintain a stiff arm. This is the reason behind his minimalist " head shell" design. As for which one sounds better? I have no idea. I will find out as I have a Schroder CB waiting for a turntable. I suspect they can both sound excellent given proper design.
Lighter, shorter tonearms with more compliant cartridges sound better. They have a much lower polar moment of inertia. This allows the arm to better follow low frequency undulations in the vinyl lowering distortion. My guess is this is why Michael Fremer prefers a shorter arm and why some tonearm manufacturers like Schroder go out of their way to reduce mass while trying to maintain a stiff arm. This is the reason behind his minimalist " head shell" design. As for which one sounds better? I have no idea. I will find out as I have a Schroder CB waiting for a turntable. I suspect they can both sound excellent given proper design.