Graham Phantom Elite vs. AS Aquilar

Just wanted to bring this thread full circle. I ended up buying a new 10-in Phantom Elite at a good price from an authorized dealer, who had it in stock, amazingly. It arrives in a few days, and I’m excited. In the end, my addiction to Graham ergonomics was too hard to break. Best tonearm on the market? No. Best value? Hell no. But it will certainly be an upgrade to my Supreme and fit beautifully in the front position on my SP10R. Thanks again to all.

Dear @wrm57  : "  I’m excited. In the end, my addiction to Graham ergonomics was too hard to break.  "

This is all about, the Grham is the one you like and no one can argue against it. Good.

R.

Thanks @rauliruegas . Burning in the internal wiring now and will install the arm in a week or so. It is a beauty and much heftier than the Supreme.

I thought I’d update this thread. The Phantom Elite turned out to be a major disappointment. I found its bearing structure to be surprisingly unstable, wobbling in protracted oscillation when lightly touched as the armwand rested on the cueing lift. While this is by no means a definitive test for how it behaves with stylus in the groove, it gave me serious pause. My Phantom III and Supreme do not wobble thus. My sense is that the magnets in the Magnaglide system are too far apart in this model (33% farther apart than the Supreme and III), weakening the force that stabilizes the bearing housing, which itself seems substantially more massive than the earlier models and therefore in need of more, not less, magnetic stabilization. And while the Elite was sonically far more detailed, it was also much brighter.  I couldn’t shake the suspicion that this brightness was in part an artifact of the apparent instability. Anyway, I prefer the sound of my older Phantoms as being more natural. Fortunately, I was able to return it to the dealer for a full refund. Kudos to Elusive Disc for standing behind its return policy.

Now I’m on to another 10-inch at a small fraction of the cost. Taking the recommendation of @rauliruegas , I just bought a Technics EPA-100 from a seller in Japan. Supposedly it’s in great shape but we’ll see when it gets here.