Despite the occasional hype of the audio press, true revelatory innovations in tonearm design only come along once in a generation. In recent times, a small boutique company from England (Supatrac) unveiled its new Blackbird tonearm and the high-end audio world is slowly expressing a collective ‘Wow!’
You know that moment when you see something for the first time and are struck by its design elegance and simplicity? You think “Genius! Why didn’t anyone think of that before?”. This is one of those moments, a moment where you know this is going to change the landscape.
All pivoted arms have certain challenges, the main one being that as the record pulls the tonearm forward, the tonearm moves backwards and forwards across the pivot point which affects the accuracy of the sound in the time domain. The Supatrac arm has a patented ‘Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm’ bearing that directly opposes stylus drag at a single point of contact, eliminating microscopic play in the time axis and avoiding the scrubbing and roll movements which can degrade the performance of conventional uni-pivots and actually… all pivoted arms. The Blackbird’s SUPA bearing delivers unprecedented performance which gives the music a planted, solid, detailed, consistent sound. Due to its design, when the tonearm encounters a warped record, instead of being knocked out of the groove, the tonearm exerts a downward motion, keeping the styles tracking perfectly. This unprecedented tracking ability is part of the sonic magic that the Blackbird delivers.
When we first heard about this design, we obtained a sample and listened to it. Within a couple of minutes, we felt that this was a revelatory step forward in tonearm performance. Sometimes you don’t realise how a small aspect of the design may be degrading the sound till you hear the absence of that aspect. Then your mind adjusts and you realise that all those years you were hearing the result of those micro-movements in all those uni-pivot tonearms and it dawns on you that it is not a ‘small aspect of the design’… it’s a REALLY big deal!
A couple weeks later, we chose to match the Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint with a state-of-the-art Dohmann Audio Helix One Mk3 turntable at a show and it was a huge success. The great disparity in the pricing of the turntable and the tonearm points to the incredibly great value the Supatrac arm represents. Beyond being a mere ‘giant killer’, the Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint is one of the best tonearms available. Period. Done. Case closed.
Products
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Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint 9
SUPA Bearing Type 9 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
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Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint 10.5
SUPA Bearing Type 10.5 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
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Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint 12
SUPA Bearing Type 12 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
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Supatrac Nighthawk 9 inch
SUPA Bearing Type 9 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
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Supatrac Nighthawk 10.5 inch
SUPA Bearing Type 10.5 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
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Supatrac Nighthawk 12 inch
SUPA Bearing Type 12 inch Carbon Fibre Tonearm
Videos
Michael Fremer discovers the Supatrac Blackbird
SUPATRAC Blackbird Tonearm — Review and Explanation
SUPATRAC Blackbird 360 degree view
Features
SUPA Bearing – Sideways Uni-Pivot Design
The Blackbird is a new turntable tone arm with a revolutionary patented ‘Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm’ bearing which outperforms traditional tone arms. The sideways uni-pivot bearing directly opposes stylus drag at a single point of contact, eliminating microscopic play in the time axis and avoiding the scrubbing and roll movements which can degrade the performance of conventional uni-pivots. The Blackbird‘s SUPA bearing delivers unprecedented performance.
Reactive Downforce
Loud passages increase stylus drag, producing oscillating vertical torque on normal tone arms – the stylus can struggle to stay in good contact with the groove. The SUPA bearing pivots just below the record level so that bursts of stylus drag produce a slight downwards torque, just when it’s needed. That’s how the Blackbird hugs the groove with tenacity during punchy dynamics. Torque-Reaction Assisted Contact (TRAC) plays the hottest grooves with less distortion.
Perfect Timing
The Blackbird is designed to resist the pull of the cartridge with unyielding rigidity on the microscopic scale. Only by maintaining a perfect position in the groove’s time axis can a cartridge reproduce the true shape and explosive energy of a recorded signal. By directly opposing the oscillating drag forces from the cartridge, the SUPA bearing avoids scrubbing, chatter and the resulting time errors which can frustrate the retrieval of music.
Universal Application
The Blackbird is designed to be lightweight and stable, fitting almost any turntable including classics like Linn, Technics, Garrard, Rega and many more. It can be matched with high-compliance cartridges due to its low inertia, and it comes with a mass adaptor to keep low-compliance cartridges under control too, making it compatible with the broadest range of cartridges from Shures to Miyajima Monos.
Arm Construction
The Blackbird‘s arm tube is made of two pultruded carbon-fibre tubes bonded together. The headshell area is reinforced with aluminium and the left tube is filled with a damping foam. The arm tube is clamped firmly to the thrust box with six M4 machine screws and captive steel nuts for high rigidity. The arm forms an exceptionally inflexible and dead structure with tennis-racquet-class strength-to-weight ratio.
Length & Geometry
Due to its construction the Blackbird can be made in any length you desire. You may specify Stevenson geometry instead of the default Baerwald. Headshell slots are 7mm long to accommodate a range of cartridges. Prices for arms longer than 12 inches are available on request. A protractor is included, making it easy to ensure accurate spindle-to-pivot distance, pivot-to-stylus distance, and offset.
Mounts
Mounts are available for Rega, Technics, Linn, SME, Jelco, VPI and others. Custom mounts are available to order, price on request.
Inertia
A nine-inch Blackbird has a base effective mass of roughly 10g. A mass adaptor is supplied for compatibility with cartridges which suit heavier arms. The range of compatible cartridges is extended by a ballast block which can be attached to the mass adaptor.
Wires
The Blackbird is designed for maintenance and modification. If you have specific wiring requirements, the internal wiring is easily replaced. By default the internal wiring is 30/0.04mm silk-covered copper litz. If supplied, arm cables come with straight or right-angle DIN connectors as requested.
Finger Lifters
The Blackbird comes with an additional rigid finger lift for those who do not wish to use the string finger lift. However, the elegant simplicity of the tress of soft cord is recommended as it protects the cartridge from accidental downward pressure. With the tress you can ensure that the stylus has engaged with the groove at the beginning of the record before you let go, and you can grip it firmly at the end of a record before lifting the stylus out of the groove. Many skeptics have changed their minds after finding there is less stress with the tress.
Linn Owners Take Note!
The Supatrac is available with a mount that allows it to be direct drop-in replacement for the Linn Ittok tonearm. The upgrade in performance is so significant that many Linn owners claim they are listening to a whole new turntable. For this reason, Linn owners are ordering the Supatrac tonearm in high numbers around the world and the acquisition of a Supatrak is considered the ultimate Linn upgrade. If you are a Linn owner, you owe it to yourself to try a Blackbird tonearm.
