But one other aspect of the SUPATRAC’s performance is worthy of special mention. It’s not just that the arm is able to deliver the musical goods, it seems able to deliver almost irrespective of recording quality. That’s not to say that it turns bad records into audiophile paragons – but it does seem able to cut through the limitations of recording and pressing quality to release the music buried within. Time and again, we were treated to remarkable musical renditions of what are generally considered distinctly ordinary sounding discs: Bowie’s Hunky Dory and the Decca’s parting shot at the Stones – Gimme Shelter – are but two examples, where the inherent musical qualities more than overcame the limitations of the records themselves. In fact, with the Nighthawk dialled in it was remarkable just how consistently enjoyable the system’s performance became, no matter what we played. The Goldberg Variations? Both the Víkingur Ólafsson and Angela Hewitt recordings were presented beautifully. More importantly, the differences between them were clearly and effortlessly apparent, with Hewitt’s sensitivity and fluid articulation especially impressive. All in all, it should come as no surprise that the Nighthawk will be taking up permanent residence in this system – as I suspect it will in many others…
When the Blackbird arrived, it seriously upset the tonearm status quo – not to mention accepted notions of price structure and what it’s necessary to pay for high-end performance. As I’ve already mentioned, the result has been a runaway success, with SUPATRAC struggling to scale up production and meet demand: A nice problem to have – but still a problem. They’re working their way through the back orders but it’s going to take time to catch up. Under the circumstances you might think that the last thing the Company would want is to promote their new, more complex product. But, given the vagaries of price and demand (the Nighthawk is still a relative unknown) lead-times for the new arm are around two months from order, while the Blackbird might be as much as three times that. Some of those waiting on Blackbirds may have placed their order before the Nighthawk was even a gleam in Richard Braines eye. Recognising that fact, SUPATRAC are currently offering any customer waiting on a Blackbird a £1000 discount should they choose to switch that order to the Nighthawk – an arm they might well receive much sooner.
SUPATRAC’s Nighthawk offers a serious step up in both price and performance. How big a step remains to be seen. It’s going to take more time and a lot more listening in a range of different system contexts to establish that. But the portents are more than just promising. When it comes to tonearms, on this showing, the Nighthawk seems set to redraw the high-end landscape.
* SUPATRAC – Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm: Torque Reaction Assists Contact
