Graham Phantom vs Triplaner

Dan_ed's remarks about the Triplanar are spot on. It is an extremely user friendly arm. Perhaps the best.

My previous comments alluded primarily to build quality, fit and finish, trackability, and noise level.

Thanks.

I agree with Raul that there are lots of other variables when it come to tonearm comparisons. There is NO one tonearm or for that matter one cartridge that can do it all - that's why Raul have 7-8 tonearms and more cartridges than i can count that freaky Lucky Bastard (sorry, i just jealous :-)

But all of us can afford such luxury as Raul so it come down to one Tonearm and maybe if we are lucky, 2 or 3 cartridges. When i did my comparison of these 2 top tonearms, i tried to match all parameters as close as i can (same Turntable, same cartridge and same Phono) but at the end, i end up choosing the Graham because of these factors:

1. Versatility - you can easily swap cartridge with diff removeable wand; it's more expensive than the headshell like Raul mention but it's great if you have just 2-3 cartridges that you really like

2. DIN connection that allow you to experiment with different cable - tonearm cable make a big difference but Triplanar also have that option

3. Quality and workmanship - personally, when i have both tonearm with me, the Graham look and feel like a more quality product (very well built and heavy) while the Triplanar feel flimsy (prob going get a lot of hate mail regarding this but that's my opinion - Post your opinion)

4. Product support - i had the Graham 2.2 before and Bob is a sweetheart when dealing with when you can get a hold of him (sorry to hear that he had personal problems lately). He sent me free of charge, counterweight supplement for my old Graham when I was having problems with heavier cartridge. A really nice guy

5. Lastly resale value - you know us audiophile, eventually we all will sell our gears and look at the resale value of both Graham and Triplanar; the Graham still retain it's value and never have problems reselling (maybe because Bob Graham cannot keep up with demand so his product is not flooded in the market like Triplanar - kind of like the Schroeder Tonearm)

I do love this hobby though, so many opinions and too much gear to try out - hope that help Downunder...

Regards,

OK, here is my 2 cents on this issue. I have a TW Raven Acustic AC Turntable on order. I made a trip to Jeff Catalano's Hi-Water Sound in NYC to hear my purchase and to listen to 3 arm/cartridge combinations. You can never seperate what you are hearing of course so trying to say that one arm is better than another is impossible. The arm/cartridge combos I heard were:

1. Phaentom/Myabi
2. Tri-Planar/Zyx 4D
3. Dynavector Arm/ Dynavector Mono Cart.

I can't tell you which individual cartridge or arm I liked best. But, in terms of overall sound I liked the Dynavector/Dynavector Mono the best. Until you have heard mono records reproduced properly with a mono cartridge you simply don't know what you are missing. After that, it was a toss up between the other two arm/cartidge pairings. The Myabi/Phaentom had beautiful transparency and focus but tended to shrink the soundstage left to right. The Triplanar/Zyx was more robust with somewhat better soundstaging but less transparent. In terms of user friendly issues, the Dynavector was probably the easiest of the 3 to set up and maintain while the Triplanar came in second, and the Phaentom third. I'm glad I'm getting a turntable that can accomodate more than one arm after hearing this demonstration.

Are you still looking for a new tonearm to replace the SME V??

Hey Shane - yes I still plan to replace the SME V. I almost pulled the trigger on that last fall, but have been dawdling.

You may recall I had a longish thread with many helpful responses on this exact topic (G vs T), but the Audiogon gods decided to toast it - or I can't find it. It went through a lot of the technical/ergonomic issues only hinted at here. The conclusion I drew from that was the Phantom had a higher build quality (almost equal to SME) and the Triplanar was a bit more fiddly on its adjustments, cueing, etc. I believe several of the latter have been addressed.

During the time that thread was running I heard offline from some folks whose ears and experience I trust. The word I got there was likewise that the Graham has the edge in construction quality and being more dynamic and up front, it might be able to rock n roll a bit more though could be a bit brash, whereas the Wheaton is a touch sweeter ("a bit colored, but nicely so...") and perhaps better suited for classical music. I received a comment that the Graham is balanced well in terms of trade-offs with "less than linear" carts such as koetsu and benz.

From the same sources I likewise heard good words about the Basis Vector - v. quiet in the groove, neutral, and super-dynamic. Perhaps some of its positives being masked on cantilevered armboards or unsuspended tables.

At the end of the day, without in system listening, I've come to believe every arm has its positives and some trade-offs and some of these are tied to the table its on and the cartridge in use. Not an earth shaking conclusion, but one that points to what Raul was suggesting in terms of system matching.

All three (Vector, Phantom, TriPlanar) are tempting. If I had to make a choice today without the benefit of a trial with my Orpheus on my deck in my room, etc., I'd probably roll the dice in favor of the latest Triplanar if for no other reason than its a known quantity, highly adjustable, and there are several people who can lend an assist with advice.

No easy choice - best of luck.

Tim

Dear Downunder: +++++" The VPI solution of replacable arm wands seems a lot cleaner and quicker as you only have to set up the arm once and then change the VTA each time a new arm is added to the table. " +++++

+++++ "Why is an Ikeda or any tonearm with removable headshell any better than a VPI, Graham, triplaner etc arm?? " +++++

It is obvious that you don't understand very well what I posted.
There is no single advantage ( speaking to achieve the best cartridge quality performance. ) on VPI tonearm when you change the arm wand because all those arm wands are build with the same material, are build in the same precise shape and with the same arm wand weight.
In the other hand what happen with all and any of the universal removable headshell tonearms?, that you can choose to mount and test the cartridge ( trying to achieve the best cartridge quality performance. ) in different headshells that are made each one of: different build materials ( aluminum, magnesium, wood, ceramic, etc, etc. ), different shape construction and different headshell weight, all these different universal headshells have a different frequency resonance and different resonance " path " and when you mate it with the cartridge that cartridge performs different with different headshells.
This fact give you the huge opportunity to obtain the best for your cartridges that you can't do it through non removable headshell tonearms.

Btw, if you have time please read this link about:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1200430667&read&3&4&

You can find different hedashells through Ebay, Audio Cubes, LP gear, Agon, etc, etc.

Audio technica tonearm: the AT-1503II and Ortofon has four new tonearm models all with universal removable headshell and with three different headshells.
Dear Thomasheisig, thank you for the tip about new Kusma removable headshell I will be alert about.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.