2023 Editors’ Choice: Best Tonearms $10,000 & Up

Although the basic design principles, thinking, and features of Bob Graham’s classic Phantom unipivot tonearm remain unchanged, the Elite represents a substantial upgrade from previous iterations, with improvements in materials and implementation, constrained-layer damping in the pivot assembly, a new high-density, non-magnetic tungsten insert for zero-tolerance bearing-contact and high spurious-energy absorption. No other ’arm known to PS can be more accurately and repeatably adjusted to extract optimal performance from any suitable pickup. Partner it with the Air Force 1 turntable, and you get a record-playing system that is unlikely to be surpassed. PS, 254

Combining the attributes of a pivoted tonearm with a traditional linear-tracking tonearm, Klaudio has created a uniquely functional pivoted/linear-tracking KD-ARM. The ’arm’s tangency is truly that of a traditional linear tracker; yet it provides the mounting convenience of a pivoted ‘arm and its sometimes-improved bass performance. This combination, when set up properly, yields excellent sound from top to bottom. With smooth operation, a host of expected adjustments (VTA/SRA, VTF, azimuth, and linear tracking zero-overhang calibration), smooth handling and operation, along with the ability to quickly switch cartridges via a removable headshell, the KD-ARM combines user flexibility with sonic satisfaction. AJ, 328

This “swing-for-the-fences” tonearm from A.J. Conti completely realigned RH’s expectations of tonearm performance. As great an ’arm as Conti’s own Vector IV is, the Superarm is in another league. The Superarm’s reduction of hardness and glare fosters the impression of the midrange taking a step back, and with it, an invitation to greater musical intimacy. This purity and “cleanliness” of timbre is alone worth the price of admission, but the Superarm also offers stunning rendering of music’s dynamic structure, from the micro to the macro. Finally, the improvement rendered in the bass—pitch definition, texture, dynamics—is staggering. RH, 264

This fabulous aluminum tonearm is built up millimeter by millimeter via a selective-laser-melting process to produce a resonance-free structure impossible to create by any other means. (Internally, the ’arm has tree-branch-like “limbs” that connect its inner tube to an outer tube, channeling resonances like a grounding wire channels RF.) With highest-precision/tolerance ceramic bearings, the TA-9000 is as sonically invisible (and utterly imperturbable) as Acoustic Signature’s fabulous Invictus turntables. Fully adjustable for VTA/SRA, VTF, azimuth, and anti-skate, the TA-9000 (in combination with the Invicti) is one of the most realistic-sounding source components JV has heard; when used with the fabulous DS Audio Grand Master optical cartridge, it rivals the timbral and dynamic continuousness and diorama-like three-dimensionality of reel-to-reel mastertapes. JV, 264 (Neo version not yet reviewed)

The SAT, the brainchild of Swedish designer Marc Gomez, will turn almost any LP collection into a veritable El Dorado of sonic treasures. Yes, it’s that good. This nifty device allows top-notch turntables such as the Continuum Caliburn to reach even loftier levels of performance. In every parameter you can think of—dynamics, alacrity, transparency, and refinement—the SAT sets a very high bar, indeed, allying imperviousness to external vibrations with remarkable neutrality through the frequency spectrum. The tracking abilities of this tonearm are phenomenal as it sails through the most treacherous dynamic passages. The treble region is rendered with a finesse that approaches contemptuous ease. It is certainly one of the most significant analog products to emerge in recent years. Note that price stated is in euros. JHb, 300