SUPATRAC Blackbird Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm is being called a "game-changer"

[sonddek]

Ladies and gents, it has been many years since I've posted on this forum, so I hope this is the right place for this message.

The short story is that I designed a new kind of tone-arm bearing during lockdown because I had too many turntables and not enough good arms or money.

The basic principles of the arm are that it is a type of ultra-rigid uni-pivot which unlike traditional uni-pivots is not free to roll/wobble laterally, and it is effectively immune to scrubbing at the bearing point.

I now have a patent in process and am selling the arm to the bold under the name SUPATRAC Blackbird.

Customers have already installed it on decks made by Technics, SME, Brinkmann, VPI, Linn, Well Tempered, Lenco, Pro-ject, Ariston etc.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Here are some links to other pages and pictures:

Review by Canadian audio blogger:
http://www.hifiaf.com/supatrac-blackbird/

Long audioflat discussion during development:
http://audioflat.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1454&sid=a1c1e9733c12818506b3742ce987dc64

Long thread including a wide variety of clones:
https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=38314.0

PFM thread during development:
https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/sideways-uni-pivot-arm-supatrac-blackbird-formerly-ekos-killer-price.245983/

Ten minute video review by hifiaf.com:
https://youtu.be/A6FrJVstlnc

SUPATRAC web site:
http://www.supatrac.com/

https://www.supasound.com/photos/onsondek2.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/onsondek3.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/onsondek4.jpg

Technics SL-1000R mount:
https://www.supasound.com/sn.one.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/blackbirdrearprofile.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/on.SL1000.lowrez.jpg

STST Motus II:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/motus1.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/motus2.jpg

Brinkmann Bardo:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/bardo.jpg

SME 10, replacing SME V:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/sme10.jpg

VPI Scout:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/vpi.jpg

Ariston:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/ariston1.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/ariston2.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/photos/fareastblackbird.jpg

Well Tempered:
https://www.supasound.com/photos/onamadeus2.jpg

Technics SL-1210:
https://www.supasound.com/v.3.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/v.4.jpg

https://www.supasound.com/v.5.jpg

Prototypes:
https://supasound.com/4arms.lowrez.jpg

https://supasound.com/12inch.3D.jpg

[Puffin]

One of the best looking arms I have seen for years. Looks like it should be a parallel tracking arm:)

[sonddek]

Cheers Puffin - it has scrubbed up quite well despite the fact that the look was at the bottom of my list of priorities. It's all about the sound. If you locate some of the comments by users on the discussion threads you will get an inkling of what it can do.

Do you think anybody will find this thread without a thread in the 'analogue' section?

[Lawrence001]

It is indeed a thing of beauty, industrial and form following function spring to mind.

The website link doesn't work for me though.

As an aside, if Marco were around (hope he's ok), and I know him as well as I think I do, I could see a post with the words "trade" and "account" forthcoming however (after a profuse welcome back message of course) [emoji23]

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[Barry]

Lovely looking arm in a Bauhaus sense: 'Form follows function'. I like the way the bias compensation works, but to my mind the pickup cueing looks like an afterthought.

If you intend to go into limited production and sell on the Forum, then you will need a trade account. However if you just want to 'spread the news' to see how much interest there might be, then just copy the url at the top of the page and then start a new thread in the Analogue section.

[sonddek]

Cheers fellas!

The arm is in production. Serial number 27 was sent out today.

The finger lift started on the first prototype and has been a revelation. A rigid finger lift is also supplied for those who are not so concerned with ergonomics.

[Patrick Dixon]

I have been following the development of this on various fora, and it looks very interesting. Very well done Richard! One thing that would hold me back though is the lack of a lift/lower lever - are you going to put one on?

I only ever use Decca cartridges these days and I'm not quite sure how a Decca would work with this, although Deccas and uni-pivots are a good combination, so no reason to doubt it really.

I'm currently using a Hadcock 242SE on my Sony TTS8000 and it's the best combination I've tried to date. I also have a Garrard 301 in a box that I must do something with one day, but I want to use the Decca heads that I have and so I'm probably looking for something with an SME compatible detachable headshell. Possible candidates are AT-1100 (not sure how that would work with the Deccas), or a Dynavector DV507 (if I can save enough pennies).

[sonddek]

I have been following the development of this on various fora, and it looks very interesting. Very well done Richard! One thing that would hold me back though is the lack of a lift/lower lever - are you going to put one on?

I only ever use Decca cartridges these days and I'm not quite sure how a Decca would work with this, although Deccas and uni-pivots are a good combination, so no reason to doubt it really.

I'm currently using a Hadcock 242SE on my Sony TTS8000 and it's the best combination I've tried to date. I also have a Garrard 301 in a box that I must do something with one day, but I want to use the Decca heads that I have and so I'm probably looking for something with an SME compatible detachable headshell. Possible candidates are AT-1100 (not sure how that would work with the Deccas), or a Dynavector DV507 (if I can save enough pennies).

Cheers Patrick, good to hear from you. My intention was to make the best sounding and most versatile tonearm I could, hopefully surpassing my trusty Ekos 2, which I believe it does, but you can't please everybody so something had to give. I've always regarded the light bulb socket headshell as a solution in search of a problem. I suspect it has a detrimental effect on sound compared to a lighter, stiffer, simpler headshell. It seems to me that if you are going to the lengths of using multiple cartridges then sound quality is probably an important factor, so why not use a deck with two arms, or even two decks, rather than compromise playback quality with all cartridges by using detachable headshells?

Of course, I'm often told that light-bulb-socket headshells don't compromise performance. I am skeptical about that.

I think Arndt on Lencoheaven has tried a Decca on his Blackbird. He is a very nice chap and it might be worth asking him about it.

[Patrick Dixon]

Yeah, didn't really expect the detachable headshell, it's more the lack of lift/lower that concerns me. The detachable headshell is so I can use the Decca 'heads' I have for 78, Mono and Stereo. They were designed to work with the Decca arm, but I reckon I can do better than that.

I already have 6 turntables, so I don't really want any more.

[sonddek]

Yeah, didn't really expect the detachable headshell, it's more the lack of lift/lower that concerns me. The detachable headshell is so I can use the Decca 'heads' I have for 78, Mono and Stereo. They were designed to work with the Decca arm, but I reckon I can do better than that.

I already have 6 turntables, so I don't really want any more.

One of the privileges of setting up SUPATRAC has been conversations with people who have nearly enough turntables!

I do intend to develop a retro-fittable lever lift at some point, but quite a few customers have been surprised by how well the string works. My own long experience of lever lifts on arms like Linns, Regas, and Technics is that every now and then a slight misjudgment can cause the lowered stylus to fall off the side of the outer edge of the record, with catastrophic potential. This does not happen with the string because you don't release it until you're sure the stylus has engaged with the groove. IMO once you are used to using it, the better ergonomics of the string make you less nervous than a lever. I know that doesn't contradict aesthetic reservations, but I put function/usability second after sound.

[sonddek]

Adam at hifiaf.com has reprised his SUPATRAC Blackbird review now that he has a magnetic pivot bolt:
https://www.hifiaf.com/supatrac-blackbird-updated/

[sonddek]

The Blackbird is now also available as a Silbervogel:

https://www.supatrac.com/photos/silbervogel/1.jpg

https://www.supatrac.com/photos/silbervogel/2.jpg

https://www.supatrac.com/photos/silbervogel/3.jpg

https://www.supatrac.com/photos/silbervogel/4.jpg

[sonddek]

The UK patent for the Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm has been granted...

https://supatrac.com/photos/patentbasics.jpg

Overseas patents are pending.