Tri-planar vs Graham

GI would for the Phantom. The Tri-Planar is way too expensive for it's - limited - performance in comparison. With carts below 10gr and a soft compliance it is fine but with the Graham is a better performer with more cartridges in general.
the VII was a competition for the Graham 2.0 series, but the Phantom is a class above.
I agree, that in some systems these differences can be minor, but they aren't.

UUUps, I was too fast with sending, correction:
I prefer the Phantom.
...but the Graham is a better performer with more cartridges in general....

I just set up a Phantom yesterday and it is (if you have any tone arm experience) a piece of cake. The only thing that needed readjustment was the vta (by sound) from the initial visual set up. Plus Graham Instructions are excellant. The other great thing is the arm wand pops off in a sweet way that really makes cartridge mounting easy plus his set up protractor/cartridge guide is really neat.
Did I mention the sound!

I never heard the Phantom, but I did have a 2.2. I did not warm up to is as it was thin in the midrange and lacked low end weight

Thom made the perfect response and Raul asked the key question which cuts to Thom's point:

"What do you dislike on your Tri/Xv-1? or what are you loking for/ want to improve?"

Well, Ian has never heard his new TriPlanar, not even for a minute. It's sitting in a box waiting for a turntable, so he has no idea what he's looking for or wants to improve. When I got my TriPlanar before my table was ready, I spent four hours investigating it, handling it and learning how all the compenents interact. Such is not Ian's way. He prefers gear-swapping, which he's posted himself is "lots of fun".

Ian, you should dump the TriPlanar and buy a Phantom. I've never heard a Phantom, but whether it's "better" or "worse" or how it differs is moot. As long as it's different (and it's bound to be different from a TriPlanar you've never heard) you'll have scratched your itch one more time. Should the Phantom arrive before the Raven, you'll have time to do it again. I say go for it.