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Tonearms
Track records on a patented sideways uni-pivot — a London-built tonearm that earned a 2024 Golden Ear.
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about supatrac
SUPATRAC is a one-man British analog house: tonearms designed and built in London by Richard Braine. The brand is built around a single patented idea, the Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm (the SUPA in the name), paired with a Torque-Reaction Assisted Contact bearing (the TRAC). The premise is that a conventional uni-pivot trades stability for low friction; Braine's geometry braces the bearing sideways to keep the contact rigid while preserving the free movement a uni-pivot is prized for. The line is short and focused. The Blackbird is the arm that put the brand on reviewers' maps, joined by the Nighthawk and the higher Farpoint variant, all hand-assembled in small numbers. These are aimed squarely at serious vinyl listeners who treat the arm as the critical link in the chain and are willing to cross-shop a boutique design against the established names. SUPATRAC competes in the specialist-tonearm conversation with makers like Schick, Reed, and the reissue SME and Ortofon arms — buyers weigh bearing design, effective mass, and tracking behavior over brand heritage. Press recognition is unusually strong for a maker this size: the Blackbird took The Absolute Sound's 2024 Golden Ear Award, with additional reviews in Tracking Angle, The Ear, and TNT-Audio. US buyers order direct from the UK maker — there is no confirmed exclusive US distributor — and the brand is carried internationally through dealers including Reference Analog and Definitive Audio, with Dohmann Audio listed as an Australian partner. Everything is built in London.