This is Bob Graham...I'm visiting a friend and just read this blog. Thanks for the nice comments, everyone, and it's good to know that our work is appreciated.
To clairify things, AudioMax is a retail dealer, not another manuactuer, so any upgrades that go through them would be, in turn, sent to us (in the U.S. only, via Musical Surroundings).
The $600 price was an intial entry fee based on preliminary estimates of time and parts cost, both of which have risen (like so much else these days!).. And "moonglum" is correct; the pricing did not leave us very much for the work, let alone developing new products (a turntable in the horizon - somewhere!)..
To check on current pricing, please check with Musical Surroundings (our U.S. distributor) or, in another country, check with your local importer, or contact us via e-mail
[email protected] Although we do not anticipate any significant upgrades to the pivot, we are always on the lookout for better ways to do things, and these are made retrofittable to the earlier units. We also try to price it so that upgrade costs will be about par with the corrent retail pricing. In that way, we hope people will be comfortable with a purchase now, and not have to worry about being left behind later...
Also, the Phantom (indeed, all the Graham arms) will work on many turntables, including those that "encourage" the use of their own tonearm. While understandably they do this, we feel you should not have the door slammed on you for other options in your choice of arms, just as you should have free choice of cartridges.
\ The Supreme is our best effort at this point, and we're very proud of it. Thanks for spreading the good word!
- Bob
