Graham Phantom vs. Phantom II

I never owned the original Graham Phantom arm but I have just taken delivery of the latest incarnation of the Phantom MKII (there is no official MKIII designation). The main differences between the original and the MKII are a more refined Magnaglide stabilizer system, titanium as opposed to ceramic arm wand, better internal wiring for improved detail retrieval and freedom from mechanical resistance, and an improved bearing pivot design. There is also a small spirit level attached to the pivot housing which makes levelling the arm and setting VTA easy.
The fit and finish of the arm are superb and easily comparable to an SMEV (my previous arm, owned for 20 years).
I have the Phantom II mounted on a TW Raven One turntable with a new Transfiguration Orpheus L mc phono cartridge.
The mc phono stage is built into my Karan Reference MKII preamp and provides for 70db of gain and adjustable resistance and capacitance settings.

Syntax

I had a Phantom and thought it was a great arm. Mine was a Phantom, but it essentially was a II. I think the only difference at that time was the armwand.

A friend has a old Phantom, one of the early ones. I helped him set it up and thought the sound was as good but it was not as easy to setup as you had to be carefull because the magnets would pull the bearing out of the bearing pocket, and mine would never do that. The fit and finish is improved as well on the more current models.

I think the Magnaglide refinements make it a better arm in that repect as it is more stable and predictable, other than that I think the old one sound great still.

I own a Phantom II but it does not have the spirit level attached to the pivot housing ... when did Bob add this feature to the II? Very happy with the arm and found it to be a noticeable improvement over my 2.2.

I used to have the Phantom I and now have the II. It is not day and light difference, but noticeable. With the Phantom II, I heard quicker transient, more air, deeper bass, better dynamics (more explosive), and more presence with instruments and voice. I really like the upgrade and the counterweight can accommodate heavy cartridge like the Goldfinger v2 which is 20g.

I do have the II as well but it does not have the spirit level. Perhaps this is the III version some people are talking about.