What does a tonearm contribute to the sound of a turntable?

@hdm Thanks for the feedback. I have indeed damped the tonearm according to its specs, starting with two drops in the well so it's just under halfway.

@simao look at the Jelco 850. Big upgrade.

Larry needs to gain some experience  and knowledge before comparing a high end vinyl rig and quality acetate to the sound of a telephone.  That’s like comparing Lawrence Olivier to Popeye, or Raquel Welch to Phyllis Diller.  

Vinyl just has that tubey magic, well that’s what the guy @ better records proclaims! Lol...I love my vinyl and my many lp’s and phonographs...and you will have to tear them all from my dead cold hands! Streaming is for the lazy...jmo...its fun for discovering etc. But when I’m serious, its vinyl. Right now, I’m liking my pro-ject 9 inch carbon fiber/aluminum sandwiched tonearm with tpe damped counterweight on my classic sb table with a Hana EL moving coil, it sounds great with very little noise...put on the right record and its heaven...even though it’s not comparable to some other's mega buck analog rigs, to me, for now, it sounds divine. Not to mention, the classic is a joy to look at and use.

Right arm makes big difference I upgraded to dynavector 507 mk2 on my avid Acutus and wow , if I could afford to get higher end equipment I could go for it without hesitation , because for sure It will sound better and you can definitely hear it .
btw digital is like a kiss trough the glass compared to vinyl 😎