SME V, Tri-Planar or Phantom B-44

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.

I had a brief chat with Bob Graham and asked what where the changes coming and he said the main thing was the Ti arm tube because of to many people complaining the ceramic tubes were to fragile to many broken tubes apparently. New wire inside and the bearing pilar assembly. He said 80$ of the change is the arm tube going to Ti. He said the differences are subtle.

The "magnaglide" is also improved...Let's face it,Graham has a great track record with update improvements!!

Well many thanks for all these comments that with others have helped in the choice.

Going for the Graham Phantom latest version and like always cannot wait!

I have to admit that the deciding factor was the arm board itself; the one I have is for the Graham standard. For the Tri-Planar I had to order and that can be a long wait with TW acoustic.

I had the opportunity to talk with Bob Graham who was very helpful with his explanations. He commented that he is working on an upgrade that will be available for the Phantom's. So I guess we will have to stay tuned...

Tim