New Transrotor TRA9 tonearm coming soon

It obviously does have the DNA of an SME V, and now I realize why Transrotor had to develop it, since SME is no longer marketing their tonearms as separate from their turntables.  At first blush, I would guess SME makes it for Transrotor, or at least parts for it.  In any case, if it resembles the SME V in performance, it is going to be excellent.

@mijostyn 

Yes, that tonearm deserves a turntable that will match with its character. The Oracle sure has the looks, but, so does my Transrotor. I think it will be a perfect match with the Apollon TMD. I am glad you highlighted those specs because I did not think about those aspects. Anthony Cordesman called the Oracle a work of art in the 2000s when he reviewed one of the early models. 

Transrotor says they created a variety of coatings to suit different tastes. This arm comes in matte, chrome, gold, or rheudium (spelling) some form of rhodium. Supposedly Transrotor created the gold version due to a high interest from the  Asian market. Transrotor always had some gold options for some of their previous SME arms and some turntables. They get pretty pricey. I opted for the gold because I think it matches my systems aesthetic with the giant polished 135 pound turntable and Clearaudio Mont Blanc stand. 
 

@lewm 

I agree, Transrotor was in a bind by not having SME tonearm/turntable bundles anymore. I am not sure if Transrotor baselined and tested their turntables with  SME arms. It would only make sense if they did. I know when I purchased my Transrotor Apollon turntable, the dealer said opting to get a Transrotor SME arm was a bargain. You get a real SME arm of your choice that is labeled as a “Transrotor SME”. Talk about close working arrangements and partnerships, it was great for all. Too bad SME is no longer in the individual tonearm market. Perhaps, they wanted to reign in tonearm sales to increase SME turntable sales. I do not know the reason, but I think it was not great for us hobbyists. 
 

I would also agree that SME may have worked with Transrotor to assist somewhat in the development of their own tonearm. I read somewhere that Transrotor looked at the Ikeda tonearm to see if any of the design parameters of that type of arm would be something they could add to their arm. I will try and find the article, maybe it is in German. 

Hmmm, that’s interesting. I have the latest catalog but did not look at the tonearm section. I already own two SME Vs, but this would be good news for anyone wanting to purchase a new in box SME. I did a quick search on the Music Direct web site and found no SME arms, only turntables.