2. analog
  3. 1249324651

Graham Phantom mk II & JA Michelle ORBE se help

I purchased a new Phantom with SME mounting for my ORBE se. According to Bob Graham's ad slick, its a drop in replacement. Not so. The geometry doesn't work. Using the orbe tone arm board cut for a sme mount, the set up is not acceptable. Then when playing a lp, the counterweight hits the vta column and the last groove will not play to the end. It's also not possible to use Graham's set up procedure due to the position of the arm relative to the spindle. JA Michelle doesn't have a new armboard for a Graham with SME footprint. Only the new Graham mounting. Not to mention the extra weight. This is very frustrating. Any easy solutions other than to recut the arm board, and try to shave some weight off of it. Had I ordered the Graham with the Graham mount, and purchased a new arm board, all would be ok, but again, the ad slick said it was a drop in replacement.
jimi_p

Showing 1 response by jimi_p

jimi_p OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for the advice. I see I'm not alone. Mr. Graham should mention that with a slight modification the SME would be a drop in replacement. I've had a Graham 1.5t for 17 years on my SOTA Star Saphire and now on a JA Michelle ORBE II se. I un mounted the arm, positioned it using the Graham arm wand and alignment spindle adapter. Marked and redrilled the arm board. It was not difficult, just a pita. I wanted the SME mount because its more universal and the (to and fro) movement of the entire unit helps to get the precise position for a spot on alignment.

Now the good news. One of the most significant upgrades I've ever made. WOW.

Frank C: I considered that, but, I'm not sure it could be refitted. My dealer would have to get involved and I really like the SME mount for the reasons stated above.
More to discover