Shelter 90X Tracking Force

Thom,as usual some great stuff.I'm becoming a real fan!BTW,you are quite knowledgable(must have come from "being at the feet of Frank Schroder" so much),but you would have a bit more credibility if you could post,"sometimes",without mentioning the two arms,you always seem to do.Believe me,I mean no disrespect,and realize these are relevant to your thoughts,often.

The Triplanar is a wonderful arm.The Schroder(particularly the REF)is probably FANTASTIC.Personally I have been pushing a friend to spring for one,so I already know how potentially good it "probably" is!I know this stuff already,and that you like these fine arms.

I prefer it,and benefit most,when you showcase your superb knowledge of all things analog,exclusively!

BTW-I have mentioned in past threads how the 2.2's damping fluid can act on the resonant factor,when attending to tracking force.So it "has" been mentioned,in these forums,yet I DO get the impression that when I address "anything" 2.2 the hands of many of our favorite forum posters go up to their ears,faster than a good magnetic protection circuit!But we can always go back to our favorite products of choice.Truthfully,though I have been accused of being a "promoter/defender" of the 2.2,I could care less who likes it and who does not.Yet,as you would attempt to correct any misinterpretation of your table,I feel the jury,for me,is out regarding how the 2.2 would perform against any of the past comparisons.OOPS,I hear those hands to ears!

BTW-I love the Pressure guage info,and am looking forward to your mod to the guage you mention.You should be aware(if not already)that the small guage being marketed on Audiogon,for 95 bucks is superb,and meets all the criteria you mentioned.I just got one,though I'd have liked it to look more like it didn't come as a free gift in a cereal box!

Sorry if any of my post smacks of condescension!I mean NO disrespect,and totally love all your posts!!

Best!



Also,I have mentioned,in many past threads

I have a rather large digital top-loader that I made a $0.50 "tool" to work with it. I got the idea from looking at the Wally Tool version. It's just a strip of plastic (retrived from the waste at local hardware store's window glazing station) that lies across the pan of the scale. One end hangs over the edge on which there is an adjustible skrew (the $0.50) with a smaller piece of plastic stip on the end of the skrew. The device is secured to the scale by placing a quarter on the end opposite the skrew and adjusting the skrew so the smaller strip is at record level. Tare the weight of the gizmo and place stylas on small strip to measure VTF. This is definately one case where a picture is worth a thousand words. I won't mention why I happen to own a digital top-loader :-)

No offense taken, Speedy One ...

I find myself in the difficult situation of trying to give anecdotal evidence while at the same time not coming off as being self promoting or condescending of other manufacturers.

Of course, I can speak only of arms I have extensive experience with, and in the last 24 months, I've lived with ... well, you know...

My 9 month stint with a Graham 2.2 in 2003-2004 was too long ago to be relevant to any current discussion. Since then, I've changed (and I'd like to think improved) my electronics and my speakers.

Part of the problem I had at the time was that my electronics and speakers had the same system bias as my Graham 2.2 did. They were all oriented toward a thin sound which tended to exaggerate "detail" at the expense of body.

I had only my turntable to balance this out. I didn't, I would likely have ripped many of these components out of my system a lot sooner.

Please don't misconstrue this as my being a bass fanatic. I can very happily live with speakers that drop like a stone below 60Hz, but I don't like components that play a slight of hand game with detail.

I'd like to re-visit the 2.2 as well as to play with the Phantom on a clean slate. Of course, this would still be in the context of a single system, but at least it would be a different system, and might better help me to triangulate in on the truth.

The Summer is a good time for this type of exercise, as folks slow down with things audio and I have time to play ... to the extent that I'm not out on the cliffs.

Gosh! What happens if I love the Phantom and start selling it. I'll be back in the same boat again (sigh).

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Agree with John Tracy above, you can build a copy of Wally Malewicz's 'ladder' for less than a dollar. All you need is a cheap 50c plastic ruler and a plastic bolt/nuts. Can be made in 15 minutes with very basic tools.
Here's Wally's original.
Here's my copy
Use a fairly stiff plastic ruler, not the really thin bendy ones. The lower platform on my jig has the flat side of the ruler (ie reverse side of ruler) pointing up for a nice flat cartridge platform.

Thom,you simply cannot love the Phantom!!Think of what it would do to your fan base!!-:)

Best!