Supatrac Nighthawk Tonearm

[SCULLERHBW]

I noticed the same thing on my Nighthawk arm, and Richard at Supatrac told me that this is simply abrasion of the ceramic paint on the surface of the "thrustbox'' at the pivot point and is normal. Neither the pivot screw nor the metal of the "thrustbox" itself is being abraded. And most important, I have heard no evidence (from playing records) that this phenomenon has degraded sonics.

 

[adyc]

I noticed the same thing on my Nighthawk arm, and Richard at Supatrac told me that this is simply abrasion of the ceramic paint on the surface of the "thrustbox'' at the pivot point and is normal. Neither the pivot screw nor the metal of the "thrustbox" itself is being abraded. And most important, I have heard no evidence (from playing records) that this phenomenon has degraded sonics.

Any comment of the performance of Nighthawk? We need more users feedback.

 

[SUPATRAC]

Abrasion around the pivot contact area is normal. The steel thrust surface is 2.5mm thick so I expect the thrust box to last for hundreds of years. Remember that the bearing point does not bear the weight of the arm, so contact pressure is minimal and wear slow.

The pivot point itself is very easily replaced - even end users can replace it - so I expect that SUPATRAC arms are far less obsolescent than tonearms which have expensive, difficult-to-replace and fragile bearings which require extremely careful calibration. The pivot contact area is between the pillar and the thrust surface so you need to look for it to see it.

If the cosmetic aspects of your tonearm matter more than the performance then there are many visually-exquisite brands to choose from. My goal is ultimate performance, reliability and longevity. The Nighthawk's appearance is determined 99.9% by its function.

 

[Dr Vinyl]

It seems Supatrac is not responding to emails or WhatsApp messages.

Please you can Pm us for any information you need

 

[SUPATRAC]

I'm sorry for slow responses - I've been ill with a cold/flu for about ten days. I'm working very hard in the workshop most of the time and I struggle to keep up with the emails sometimes. Apologies. Please be patient.

 

[SUPATRAC]

At AXPONA two Nighthawks were demonstrated - one in the Refined Audio room on a TW Acustic Raven with Audio Mirror amps and Cube Audio speakers. Here's an interview with Michael Fremer in that room during which I mention the differences between the Nighthawk and the Blackbird:

Another Nighthawk was heard by those lucky enough to be invited to hear Brian's system in his room about 25 minutes from the show. This system featured an amazing pair of Hill Plasmatronics Type 1 speakers. The deck was a Döhmann Helix One Mk3 which sported a 10.5 inch Nighthawk in the left bay and a 12 inch Blackbird on the right:

The next public exhibitions of the Nighthawk will be at Munich High End in the Cessaro/Alieno/Döhmann room on a Döhmann Helix One Mk3 and in the OePhi/hARt/HSE/SUPATRAC room on a Technics SL-1300G. I look forward to seeing any wbf members there.