Phantom B44 vs The SME V Tone Arm

No SME V comparison can be considered valid unless you consider upgrading the tonearm cable & the internal arm cable. Only then will you get the maximum quality from the tonearm. None of the comparisons done by MF had this modification done. The tonearm cable inside the PHantom is far superior (to most people) than the internal cable inside the SME V and hence any comparison would not be a level playing field. The SME V is still considered a standard to judge against and is a great "starter" tonearm. In addition it excels in bass reproduction and controling the cartridge due to the nature of its design. I can't speak for the Graham but many others can.

Hi Dgad

What wire mods have been done to your arm to make it better than the stadard SME V.

Paul

The SME V should be purchsed with (or upgraded to) the MCS 150 internal silver wiring for a valid comparison with the Graham Phantom. Both should be used with a quality phono cable rather than the pitiful stock phono cable which comes with the SME V arm. Be careful - the 30/2, when used with the SME V, requires a special orientation of the phono cable DIN plug to fit well inside the arm mount. The DIN plug orientation of SME arms is 180 degrees opposite that of Graham arms.
The V, a gimbal bearing arm, excels with the 30/2, delivering especially good bass. The Graham, a unipivot design, has the advantages of easy adjustability and quick change of cartridges(with arm wands).
IF you buy an extra tonearm mount for the 30/2, you can have your cake and eat it, switching quickly from one arm to the other, the best of both worlds. For a table of the caliber of the 30/2, you should have both.

Pcosta,

I never changed my internal cable but I did change the external cable. I used Harmonic Technology Crystal Silver Phono cables. It was a night & day difference. As they say, veils were lifted. Treble became very extended and bass solidified. The tuby bass was reduced. The internal cable within the arm is similar to the external cable so the "cable bottleneck" is still there. I can only imagine how much better it would be after the internal wire is upgraded.

The big advantage of a gimbaled arm is the stability of the cartridge. Cartridge life will be extended compared to most unipivots.

For me the choice would be simple.
Of these two, only the Graham gives you the full adjustability that a top quality cartridge demands. The SME-V assumes that the cartridge/cantilever/stylus is perfectly aligned....unfortunately this is rarely the case. The Graham jig allows proper alignment using the cantilever as a reference - not the cartridge body.
The SME-V doesn't offer proper VTA-on-the-fly adjustment (nor calibration), nor any azimuth adjustment.

I owned the SME-V 15yrs ago and made the switch to the Graham 1.5T - never regreted that move for a second. I far prefer the sound of the 1.5T to V on my TNT. Choosing between the new Phantom and the SME-V is an absolute no-brainer IMO.