How important is the tonearm?

Very nice! You'll have a very hard time taking many of those well known 'table makers seriously from here on out.

The job of the tonearm is to hold the cartridge in the groove with the grip and determination of The Incredible Hulk while maintaining the finesse of Tinkerbell.

That table deserves either the Triplanar or Graham. My personal preference would be for the Triplanar. TTweights also has the Talea, which is expensive, but will leave you speechless, even with a "lowly" 103r. You should try to hear one even if you have no intention of buying it.

(fill in your own TV voice talking really fast for this last part)
disclaimers: I also sell Taleas, but have no association with TTweights, other than we both sell that arm. I've owned a Graham 2.2 in the past. I currently own and use a Triplanar along with a Talea. I don't have any association with Wheaton or Graham.

I don't disagree at all that it is the cartridge that is the main focus in getting the music from the grooves. In the context of this thread, however, the device that is responsible for allowing the cartridge to work the best it possibly can is the arm. I have never seen or heard a cartridge work without an arm of some sort. (Those little VW microbus toys don't count!)

Obvisouly, we're leaving out every other link in the chain from cart to speaker, but why cloud the issue when the question here is about the arm.

I prefer the Triplanar to Graham because of the PITA of adjusting the damping fluid on a Graham to get it to sound it's best. The Triplanar is much easier and faster to get set, i.e. it is more user friendly IMO. Still, Graham arms are excellent. The Talea outperforms both of these right out of the box, is the easiest of all three to setup, and will allow one to really hear what a cartridge can do.

SME?!?! Give me a break.

The question was NOT what is more important, rather HOW important is the tonearm. And I think we all agree that the arm is very important.

Soulbrass, all things being equal, etc., the low-end cart on the high-end arm will sound better because the arm is providing more complete support to allow the lesser cartridge to sound its best.

Yes, it is all important. The table, the arm, the cart, the wiring, etc. However, the OPs question was not "what is more important". He simply asked "how important is the tonearm". If they asked "How important is the table?" My answer would be the same. Very important. No component can correct the faults of another, but faults can be masked by another component.

Oh, now you aren't saying non suspended tables are inferior. ;-) Are you?

Ah, I see. We're not thinking apples and apples. Have you heard a modern, mass loaded, non-suspended table? I'm not talking about Rega, Denon, etc.

You aren't a real Audiophile.

And proud of it! :-)

Paperw8, most any tonearm is a complex system in itself. Sorry, no easy answers.

Tapping. Here we go again.

I've been down this road before with you, paperw8. Tap,tap! That would be the sound my head would make as it hit that same brick wall as the last time. No thanks, I really don't care what you think you know.

And many will tell you the same about buying anything analog. Your value judgment is your own.