AXPONA 2026

Tonearms can be the unsung heroes of a turntable set-up. But relatively few manufacturers who make them sell them à la carte, especially if they also make turntables and other gear for vinyl playback.

Notably, companies such as Jelco and SME stopped selling them — the former altogether, and the latter stopped selling them separately from their turntables. Among others, these factors make brands like Sorane compelling to those who appreciate or demand — or are assembling — a more customizable high-end turntable setup, and/or want a second or third tonearm beyond what comes from the turntable makers.

At AXPONA 2026, Sorane’s U.S. distributor Sierra Sound showed several tonearms on static display, as well as some in active systems — as our AP colleague Ken Micallef expertly reported over on our sister site, Stereophile, here, in a story that posted on April 26, 2026. Plus, you can check the video report Ken did in the Sierra Sound room at the show, via the YouTube clip below.

Sierra Sound added Sorane’s specialty tonearm line to their roster back in October 2025. Pronounced “so-RAH-nay,” the Japanese company’s name Sorane approximately translates to “sound of the heavens” — a combination of the terms for “space,” in the sense of sky or heavens, and “sound,” as Sierra Sound co-founder Michael Fajen explained to me in a conversation a few months back, soon after they received the tonearm lineup.

Fajen said that he had been aware of Sorane, but took more notice after Jelco stopped production. He’d had a Jelco 850, and wondered what a good potential replacement for that S-shaped arm with a removable headshell might be. Then the Sorane TA-1 tonearm caught his eye. He noted that the TA-1 tonearm “is a very traditional S-shape, medium mass, medium everything. It’s a very adaptable tonearm.” It also comes in two versions — the shorter 9in TA-1, and longer 12in TA-1L.

Although a Sorane TA tonearm costs more than a Jelco 850, the build-quality stood out to Fajen. They also have better bearings, he told me. “I was just kind of blown away by how well-made they were, just the efficiency of the bearing and how smooth they felt in your hand, and just the lack of flaws in the construction,” Fajen explained.

Sorane’s tonearms are handmade by a family-run Japanese manufacturing facility with an unlikely name, IT Industry, which has been around since the 1970s. Sorane’s two higher-end tonearm lines, the SA and the ZA, are more exotic (and yes, more expensive), have also captured Fajen’s interest. Those lines are more niche offerings, especially compared to the TA. “They are bigger and heavier as they go up, and perhaps also pickier about the cartridges they work with,” Fajen clarified. Prices for these tonearms range from $1,800 to $2,650.

The SA and the ZA series are indeed heavyweights that are designed to work with a certain type of cartridge — a very low-compliance cartridge. In these kinds of specialized cases, matching with a suitable cartridge matters, Fajen noted. That includes the 9in Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm he showed me at AXPONA 2026. “The SA series is this very angular-looking tonearm with a sliding weight in the actual arm-stem area,” Fajen said. “It’s the kind of forward weight that you would use to set the tracking force; it’s kind of a unique design. It’s a pretty heavy tonearm.”

Sorane’s top-end tonearm, the ZA-12, represents yet a different design: It’s a 12in transcription arm. Fajen mentioned he’d never seen a tonearm like it before. He then half-jokingly mentioned that he thinks it weighs more than some turntables do.

“The ZA-12 impressed me with its sheer bulk,” Fajen said. “If you can imagine, it’s got to be incredibly stable with just that much mass.” That very high-mass approach means that only certain types of cartridges will be suitable to be used with it — namely, low-compliance cartridges.

The goal of this high-mass, very rigid design is to remove resonance insofar as possible to avoid it adding to the sound. “They’re trying to make an absolutely resonantly inert box, almost,” Fajen observed. It’s machined from a solid piece of aluminum — i.e., there’s no removable headshell — and the wiring in the armwand runs in separate channels on either side of the armtube. This reportedly improves right and left channel separation.

The combination of extremely high-mass tonearms and extremely low-compliance cartridges might be a niche within a niche, but it’s a sonic approach that has its fans. Fajen added that he sometimes hears about certain arm/cart combinations that work well together even though, spec-wise, they aren’t supposed to. “So,” he concluded, “while it might be picky cartridge-wise, if you give [a tonearm] the right cartridge, it’s just going to be a rock-solid performer.” Rock-solid both literally and figuratively, it seems.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ firsthand look and listen at Tien Audio’s 10th Anniversary turntable, as well as the company’s TT5 turntable and Record Coupler. This story first posted on May 7, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on joining American Sound in their celebration of AirTight’s 40th anniversary, and also gets to check out an AirTight ATE-3011 phono stage, an Analog Relax EX700 phono cartridge, and an SME 60 turntable. This story first posted on May 4, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ audition of a system featuring a Well Tempered Lab Versalex turntable, Dynavector P75 Mk4.1 MM/MC phono stage, and Dynavector 20X-2A MC cartridge. This story first posted on April 30, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on SOTA’s many cool offerings at AXPONA 2026, including their flagship Onyx turntable; Quasar, Comet, Escape, and Moonbeam turntables; Pyxi phono stage; and more. This story first posted on April 28, 2026.

Go here for Ken Micallef’s video interview with Sierra Sound co-founder Michael Fajen and Aesthetix sales and marketing specialist Brent Hefley about the gear shown in the Sierra Sound room, which including the AMG Viella turntable with 12JT Turbo tonearm, Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm, and Aesthetix Rhea Signature phono stage — plus, we get an exclusive visit to “The Tonearm Garden”; this story first posted on April 27, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on a pair of American Audio & Video demo rooms at AXPONA 2026, with one of their systems featuring a Dual CS 529 turntable and Violectric PPA-V790 phono preamp, and the other featuring a Goldring GR3 turntable; this story first posted on April 23, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on a couple of Monarch Systems demo setups that included an SME Model 8 turntable and Loricraft Audio PRC6i professional record cleaning machine; this story first posted on April 20, 2026.

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on the analog gear she encountered in some exhibit rooms that were put together in tandem by Technics and Nagaoka; this story first posted on April 15, 2026.

Go here for AP editor Mike Mettler’s report on an Acoustic Sounds listening session that deployed a Döhmann Helix One Mk III turntable, in addition to other high-end gear from Wilson Benesch, Supatrac, DS Audio, Audio Research, and Wilson Audio; this story first posted on April 14, 2026

Also go here for our sister site Stereophile‘s in-depth AXPONA 2026 coverage, which often includes video interviews with key manufacturer reps, product engineers, and equipment designers who were at the show.