looking at upgrading my tonearm from a triplanar

I found the Talea to be a disappointment compared to the Triplanar, after everything I had heard and read about it. In particular the Triplanar is better in the bass- so far, the best I have heard. I use recordings I have recorded myself for reference, as I know how they are supposed to sound (Canto General, if anyone is asking).

The Triplanar has the hardest bearings of any arm made. Its one of the reasons it works so well.

Recently the arm has been updated with more flexible wire, and there are two newer models, the 12" and a regular size that uses the new arm tube materials of the 12".

So it might be that the thing to do is get the older arm updated.

Did own the Triplanar VII U2 for quite a while and made a lot of comparisons with it, mainly against Graham Phantom first generation (which was replaced later until Supreme) with various cartridges.
The Triplanar was ok in the time when Graham 2.0 was the current one, but every comparison against Graham Phantom was disappointing for me. The Triplanar is grossly overrated, in no area, with no cartridge it was able to stand against Phantom Arm. That one is faster, shows much more detail in every frequency area and it works also with a lot of carts at superior level. The Triplanar looks solid, but it isn't, the energy transfer is mediocre. It is ok with cartridges which do not reflect any or few energy back into the Arm or are low in weight (Zyx is a good match for example). Koetsu, Lyra and others which need a Arm with good energy transfer, solid bearing to shine on their best, work much better with Phantom. Made these comparisons on same Turntable, same electronics and correct installation. The Kuzma 4P is also a loser compared to Phantom Arm, slow, it simply does not have the headroom and subtle details and so on other Arms can deliver, also a comparison on same turntable with identical electronics was done for that. But there will be other opinions who will write something different ...

My impressions are pretty similar to Doug's as they should be since Doug and Dan introduced me to the Talea ,on Doug's table ,many years ago. For almost a year I had the TP and the Talea2 mounted side by side ,on my TW AC . The carts were the Trans Orpheus and later , the Lyra Atlas. Having compared the 2 arms ,in the same system for over a year , to my ears there was no comparison and I sold the TP. In every conceivable parameter the Talea2 is a superior arm though I have not heard the later iterations of the TP, namely the 12" version. The Talea2 was intended as a 2nd arm but the differences were so stark it ended up as the solo arm.
YMMV
Best
Pradeep

So, Audiotomb, it seems you need a Graham Phantom AND a Talea2 to cover all the bases, if you replace your TP. I own a TP and have heard the Talea on a neighbor's system with which I am intimately familiar. I cannot say the Talea is better than the TP, because I would need both on the same tt and in my house, in order to compare them, but the Talea did sound superb, with a ZYX UNIverse.

Stating the obvious (and agreeing with you Lew), tonearm/cartridge auditions are the most difficult comparisons to make, and small differences in setup can dramatically influence the results of a comparison.

Your best bet is the experience of an audio buddy whom you can trust, and whose taste doesn't necessarily have to line up with yours as long as you can reliably map their feedback/comments into something that's meaningful to you.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a dealer for most of the arms referenced (Durand, Kuzma, Tri-Planar) so I will recuse myself from public comments about any of these fine tonearms, as well as the others which I don't represent.

Cheers,
Thom