SME V, Tri-Planar or Phantom B-44 ?

The Phantom and the Triplanar seem to operate at a level above the SME V. The reason for that seems to be arm tube resonance- all three arms have some sort of damping system to control that, but the SME seems to be the least effective, and has a slight signature relative to the other two arms. Its construction otherwise is superb.

The Phantom and and the Triplanar are nearly neck and neck. The Phantom solves a lot of the issues that the earlier 2.0 and 2.2 struggled with- you can use a wider range of cartridges and not get in trouble. The Triplanar features on the fly adjustment of VTA on a repeatable basis, and is very consistent with adjustments- very easy to set up.

There have been many comments about the differences between these two arms elsewhere. If you read through them, I think the only rational conclusion is that the two arms are very similar in sound, and that setup likely has more to do with the differences heard than anything else.

I myself have a Triplanar, and I find that with the right cartridges, such as the Transfiguration Orpheus or ZYX Universe, that the overall tracking effect is so good, so stable, that it actually compares to tape. If you have heard a good tape setup, the image stability is what I am talking about- something that most tonearms simply cannot do.

Hi Raul, I've not had direct experience with the Phantom as I have a Triplanar for each of our Atma-Sphere 208s. I've seen a lot of people argue about which of arm is better and I don't doubt that there are differences in sound nor (more importantly) do I care to debate their merits.

But with all the 'goner' arguement about which is better, to me the only rational conclusion is that they must be very close, and set up issues (the room, the amps, the speakers, cables, etc., etc.) are playing enough of a role to account for the differences that taste does not. To that I add that Tri Mai's Of Triplanar tends to be very complementary of the Phantom and I know he would not say that to me if he did not mean it.

IMO the Triplanar, if not in fact the bona-fide item, is very nearly the state of the art. But earlier I tempered that opinion in an effort to allow for other's opinions as well...