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Graham Phantom Anti-Skate. Is it effective at all?

I've had my Phantom Supreme over a year now, and for the most part it's been a pleasure. Beautiful build & sound; awesome VTA and azimuth adjustments. My main hangup had been the headshell; getting a Koetsu to sit flat on the 10" wand seemed impossible because the correct overhang pushed it all the way to the back, behind the main headshell points of contact. Finally I just used 2 plastic washers as shims to get a nice flat mount.

Now my main concern is the anti-skate. I'm not sure if all Phantoms are this way or if it's an issue with my unit. I can't seem to get an effective amount of anti-skate. My preferred method for adjusting anti-skate is to drop the needle in some dead-wax before the label (NOT into a lead-out groove) and adjust so that the stylus creeps *slowly* inwards. With my Graham, I cannot achieve that...it always moves quickly inwards no matter how far out I set the weight. Even physically pushing down on the weight doesn't seem to have much effect in swinging the arm. To me, this seems like the mechanism is not effective, as if I'm running without any compensation. This is very unlike my experiences with a Fidelity Research FR64fx (weight and fishing line) and Clearaudio Magnify (magnetic) -- both have a very noticeably effective anti-skate mechanism, which I can easily dial-in as described above. In fact I just setup a Magnify...it was great!

On my Graham, the pulley & rope system seems to be correctly in place. But without a 2nd until to examine, I can't determine whether this is normal. Could other owners/users of Graham please comment on their experiences with its anti-skate? The situation is OK for now -- I burn hours on my good cartridges very slowly and sparingly -- but I'd rather not have my nice cartridge seeing asymmetric wear over the long-run.

-- Mike
128x128mulveling
tzh21y
1,654 posts
 
This is a great place for audiophile knowledge, thats for sure.
lewm
12,453 posts
 
I am surprised to read Don's and Doug's statements regarding anti-skate. If the reader is a neophyte, please take those statements with a smidgeon of skepticism. For any pivoted tonearm with stylus overhanging the spindle, there IS a skating force generated. Whether one likes it or not. No amount of fiddling with VTF or SRA will negate skating force. The fact that the magnitude of the skating force is constantly variable across the surface of any LP, and different for different LPs, does not necessarily give one license to ignore it. Well, actually, one can ignore it, but listen carefully, especially to the R channel fidelity, with vs without at least a smidge of anti-skate applied, before disabling the anti-skate device. That's my advice. Judge for yourself whether you want to apply anti-skate or not and how much to apply, by direct experimentation. It's very easy to do. In my case, I CAN hear distortions that arise when there is no AS, so I use the minimal amount necessary to cancel those distortions.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Good caution by Lew. There's no question that skating forces exist. I don't deny physics and I doubt Don does either. I suggested caution in my last sentence but Lew described the correct procedure.

Well, actually, one can ignore it, but listen carefully, especially to the R channel fidelity, with vs without at least a smidge of anti-skate applied, before disabling the anti-skate device. That's my advice. Judge for yourself whether you want to apply anti-skate or not and how much to apply, by direct experimentation.
Exactly right. I played many LPs while tweaking A/S and VTF from one passage to the next, learning exactly how much of each was needed for clean R channel tracking while optimizing sonics. With my favored cartridges on my tonearm, no A/S tracks cleanly and sounds best. I know others whose rigs, like Lew's, need a smidge for optimal performance. Very few rigs require more than a smidge.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,368 posts
 
Whewe....I have been an exponent of not using a/s for years on these and other pages, only to be rebuked many times over.. Vindication at last...others hear what I hear....improvement with no a/s. ..just to admit to setup deficiency on my part....I got an ap on my iPod touch that is called suface level....it actually buzzes when it is perfectly horizontal. When I initially set up my table I used a carpenters level, and now realize that the little bubble may be off because of parallax error, etc. Anyway, with the aid of the buzzer crying out in perfection, and again using the FOZ to check for azimuth, I am rewarded with an even better picture to the musical event.....Vinyl requires great patience....
rockitman's avatar
rockitman
417 posts
 
Hmm, if anti skate is so bad why do tonearm designers include it in their designs ?. I suppose some people don't mind a deflected cantilever and the sonic issues that may result. there could be some arms that can perform w/o anti skate perhaps ? Graham is not one of them, nor is the Clearaudio Universal arm which I have tried with and without anti skate.
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