SME V, Tri-Planar or Phantom B-44


To be mounted on a Raven AC (only one arm) what is your system or choice. No way will I get a chance to listen to any of these where I live (France). So would like any of you here to feed opinions.

My system is :

Raven AC
Nagra VPS
Nagra PL-L
Nat Audio SE1 (SET 211 tube)
Wilson Audio WP 5.1

I would be using a Lyra Argo i

Thanks
Tim
timnaim
Hi Tim,

well the phantom is perfect or the new Kuzma 4-Point
where you can swap the headshell.

regards kha
Hi to all,

Thanks so much for all these views/comments.

I have one question : why are Phantoms quite easy to find second-hand yet Tri-Planar less (never?).

Is this because more of the Phantoms were/are sold?
Tim
Timnaim,

That is honestly not the case. Both are just as easy to find depending on when you are searching. The Triplanar had an update to a newer arm months ago and the new version is slightly lower in effective mass. Many Triplanars were sold then s/h. Now there is a Phantom II w. a titanium armwand. So now you will see my Phantoms Is for sale. Even the original Phantom I had a bearing update during production.
On another note, does anyone know if the Phantom II will in fact be an improvement over the Phantom I or is it due to production problems w. the ceramic armwand that the new Phantom II is being produced. Will Titanium have the same resonance control as the Ceramic armwand? Also will the effective mass be changed? This can be detrimental if the synergy w. an existing cartridge is "reduced" w. the II version.