Graham Phantom vs Triplaner

Guys, I have spent alot of time with Mr Mai. He seems to have a reason for the trade offs he takes to make his price point. He has the engineering, design, and manufacturing experience to be placed (by others) at the pinnacle of a select group. Most rags and table mfgrs use SME, GRAHAM and TRIPLANAR in the same sentence when discussing "the best". I watched the owner of PAD bring Tri a cable to take and listen/critique. His opinion is obviously highly valued in the biz.

I have also noticed more HRXs than one might think one would at CES. At last count there are 84 TT mfgrs. Harry sells all he makes, doesn't have review tables much, so again dealers and MFGRS go into their own pockets to use this table at shows. Does this make either of these the best? No, but it says something...

Z

I agree. TRi Mai is a very nice guy. I met him at CES this year.

Harry from VPI is also a great guy and an even greater tinkerer. That is why sometimes some of his designs seem to be a work in progress as they are - sort of. he is always thinking of better and more unsusual ways of making music.

He thought the RIM drive idea would be a piece of shit. The fact that he spent time playing around with it, he said that even he was suprised at how much better it made his table sound. like a "master tape" was his words.

I'll try one out in the next 2 mnths or so. after I get my 2nd 12.7 arm wand back from him

D, I forget which room I saw the rim in, but the two guys sharing the room were giggling like little school girls. Just loved the thing. These two guys probably made/make more VPI converts than VPI dealers! I have several "highlight" memories from this year and these two... Well ya just had to be there. Not the prettiest thing. Kind of contrasts with the HRX sex appeal, if you know what I mean. How's that PDF coming? Z

Larry, Yes, Mr Wilson puts the stuff out there. He can afford it. Or can't afford not to. Mr Mai cannot afford to give or loan. Yes, it is probably the most idiot proof design out there, works with anything, and does not cost the moon. Sounds like a good recipe to me. All that, and a great guy to do business with. Sign me up! Z.

Yes, Tri Mai is a nice guy, and so was the founder Herb Papier. I've also met Victor Conti from Vector. It seems like a lot of the people involved in tonearm design are great guys who are passionate about their work.

I am a bit leery of the whole business of people needing to establish which is "the best," treating everything as some kind of competition. I've heard a lot of different and good setups using a wide range of arms -- Shroeder Reference, Kuzma (tangential/air bearing), Vector, Naim Aro, SME, Moerch, Graham Phantom, etc. I've heard the same cartridge (Transfiguration Orpheus) in different arms in the same system.

As a general observation, when one is using an arm that is compatible with a particular cartridge, among very well designed arms, the differences are slight as compared to the difference in sound from changing cartridges or the turntable itself. That actually argues in favor of the easy-to-use arms (Graham, Triplanar). I say "slight" in comparison, but, differences are notable and certainly worth considering. But, these kinds of differences fall into the category of system tuning, personal preferences, etc. and so nothing suggests one is better than the other.