Graham Phantom B44 2 or Taela ?


Am seriously contemplating a 2nd tonearm on a TW AC1. The TT currently has a Triplanar 7 mark 2 with a Transfiguration Orpheus L cart and a Nagra VPS Phonostage, which will stay. Was pretty keen on the Graham B44 with a Lyra Titan i. Am unlikely to get to audition either.
Would love to hear from A'goners who have experienced the Taela in their systems. , more specifically anyone who has done a comparison with the Phantom. Admittedly there are many subjective variables in such an excercise, but any views/comments would be most welcome.
Many thanks.
128x128sunnyboy1956
To me, it is close to impossible to say which combination of tonearm and cartridge is really going to work in any system without an actual trial. Unfortunately, such actual trial before purchase is almost impossible to arrange.

I have not seen or heard the Talea arm. I am familiar with both the Titan and Orpheus L (I own both), and have heard both the Titan and orginal Orpheus in the Phantom arm. I have a Basis Vector arm myself. With this arm, I like both the Orpheus L and my Titan (not Titan i), though they sound quite different.

My friend had both a Graham Phantom arm and the Basis Vector arm on his table and would swap a Titan i and orginal Orpheus (not the low output version) between the two arms. For whatever reason, he much preferred the Basis arm with both cartridges and preferred the Orpheus over the Titan i. I really think this is all a matter of system matching and taste. I did not hear the direct comparison myself, but thought the Phantom sounded quite good with both cartridges. This friend ended up selling the Phantom arm. Another aquaintence who is very familiar with the Orpheus positively hates the Phantom arm and claims that the older Graham arms were superior to the Phantom (he characterizes the sound of the Phantom as unengaging and cold sounding). I have not otherwise heard anything bad about the Phantom and consider this very much a minority opinion.

As far as your purchase of the Titan i, I think it will make an interesting contrast with the Orpheus L. In my system, the Orpheus L has, in comparison with my Titan, a slightly more prominent upper midrange. This makes female vocals a bit more prominent and forward sounding. On well done recordings, this prominence can be seductive, but, where the vocalist is too close to the mike, the overloading is more annoying with the Orpheus than the Titan (more like the singer is shouting). The Titan has a slightly more open top end than the Orpheus, something I like. The bass response of both are quite different. The Orpheus has a very fast, punchy and dynamic low end (great with kick drums). But, that kind of tight bass response can sound a touch "toneless" and make the bass sound a bit disembodied. In terms of bass "tone" I actually prefer the Titan. Both cartridges are very good with minimizing the annoyance of surface noise; perhaps the Orpheus is a little better. If you have any issues with not having enough gain, the Orpheus is noticeably lower in gain than the Titan. I really cannot say which cartridge I prefer. I don't have an easy way to switch between the two (my Basis arm is not easy to setup properly) so I currently use the Orpheus L because it is my newest acquisition. I envy your ability to easily switch between the two. Both are terrific sounding and sufficient different in sound so that the combination makes a lot of sense.
BTW. It just so happens that the Talea mounting bolt pattern will fit within two of the three Triplanar mounting holes, so no machining is necessary. I realize Sunnyboy is looking for a second arm, but I thought I would mention this in case it helps someone.
i do own (and love) my Talea. i have not had a Graham Phantom in my system....although i've heard the Phantom many times in other systems and specifically compared to the Triplaner more than a few times. generally i think the Phantom and Triplaner are at the similar level of energy and resolution as well as quality of build. i somewhat prefer the more neutral Triplaner. i bring up the Triplaner because i heard the Talea in my system a couple of times directly compared to my Triplaner on the same tt with the same cartridge and also in another system on the same tt. the Talea was clearly better; and i think very highly of the Triplaner.

btw; i do own the Lyra Olympos SL; the best sounding cartridge i have heard. it's mounted on my Rockport Sirius III. i have not had it mounted on the Talea but i would expect it a magical combination and eventually i'll try it there.

in the 90's i did own a Graham 1.5tc and then i owned a Graham 2.2 for a couple of years....until i purchased my first Rockport in 2000...so i do have experience with Graham and it is a very good tonearm.

the Talea is very special and i highly recommend it.
I agree with Mike. The Talea is one of the most special tonearms I have heard. While I would recommend the Phantom over the Triplaner, they are fairly close in performance. I find the Talea to be in another class.

It is a beautiful looking and sounding arm.
Many thanks for all the suggestions/comments/advice.
Jfrech
Am loving the VPS and am managing to squeeze enough gain from the tube only stage. Did contemplate the 12" Graham but was dissuaded from that path by many incl. Thomas of TW.
Dan_ed
I may yet surprise you! Whereabouts are you located in New England ?
Larryi
Really appreciate your honest assessment of the Orpheus L and the Titan. Its pretty much what I imagined but coming from someone who actually owns both is so much more valuable.
Mike
Your endorsement and recommendation of the Talea I value.

Ideally would love to audition the Talea. In the event thats not possible the testimony/reviews on Agon would probably sway me.

Cheers and happy listening