Tri-planar vs Graham

I've owned the Graham 1.5t and the Tri-planar and like them both. I have not owned or heard the Phantom. Of the two, I've owned I preferred the Wheaton.

Wendell

Duane's wrong on two of his three points. I've owned three Graham's and they're not at all difficult to set up; if you've got half a brain. Tri-Planar's are also easy to set up and while sonically different than Graham, they're anything but "sparse."

Floyd ... try to hold onto at least one component in your system for a year.

When you get the itch to change, scratch it by playing with loading, setup, etc. Try another brand of cartridge - perhaps by starting with a lower end one in a company's lineup (to keep cost of experimentation down).

Most of the good manufacturers have a "house sound", so you'll learn a lot about how a Dyna XV-1t sounds by listening to (for example) a 17D3. The same holds true for the Benz and Lyra line.

Listen to Raul on this one ... there are magical combinations and you need to work to find them.

In my experience, the Tri-Planar has a sound that is very reminiscent of the great Japanese tonearms, with the Micro Max-282 coming immediately to mind. It is very robust, and to call it "sparse" tells me that Duane was very unlucky in the gear combination that accompanied his Tri-Planar. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone call the Tri-Planar sparse (warning ... dealer disclaimer here).

This by no means is intended to cast aspersions on the Graham Phantom. I have limited experience with it and would not even venture into making an intelligent comment about it. This is more about playing out your hand before re-shuffling the deck. The Phantom is a project I intend to pick up in the coming year.

From what friends tell me, the Phantom is a significant leap over the 2.2. People who like myself had difficulty warming up to the 2.2, like the Phantom. It sounds as if Bob has really made significant progress.

Really get to know it your Tri-Planar. Your opinion is the only one that matters, but you have to be willing to get to know a piece of gear in a serially monogamous way. Right now (to follow this metaphor), you're hanging out in singles bars and looking for the love of your life every weekend.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Dear Madfloyd: Both tonearms are good quality performers and I think that your XV-1s can perform ( different ) but very good on each one.

What do you dislike on your Tri/Xv-1? or what are you loking for/ want to improve?

The results on both tonearm/cartridge combinations is system dependent and your curiosity IMHO maybe can't be satisfied till you try it n your system.

regards and enjoy the music.
raul.

Madfloyd,

I own a Raven AC and I use a new version Ti-Planar Arm with a Transfiguration Orpheus Cart. Before purchasing, I visited Jeff Catalano at Highwater Sound in NYC. Jeff usually has 3 or 4 arm/cart combinations on his Raven AC. I heard at that time the Graham and the Tri with different cartridges in each. The differences? Since there were different cartridges in each arm, that's almost impossible to answer. However, in general, I felt the Graham was very sweet sounding with fine transparency but a slightly narrower soundstage than the Tri-Planar which I found to be more dynamic with a shallower but wider sounstage than the Graham. Take your pick. I agree with Thom M. in that arm/cart set-up are paramount along with cart loading and gain matching. Without close attention to these parameters, it won't matter what you buy since it will not perform to its utmost. I recommend a Wallytractor for your arm, although as threads of the last few days have shown, buying one is next to impossible leaving a Mint or Dr. Feickert as the next best thing. Regarding set-up, the Tri-Planar is relatively easy to set up and while I have no experience with the Graham, most reviews have indicated it is simple as well. BTW, the surface on which you rest your table may have as much impact on sound quality as your arm/cart combo not to mention the quality of your preamp and the rest of your system.

Best of Luck