Graham Phantom B44 2 or Taela ?

i own an original Talea, and am on the list for the newer 2nd gen Talea.

Joel did do some listening tests in my system of the various 2nd generation changes as he went along; he visited 6 or 7 times over the summer. it was a real privledge being involved (watching and listening). the changes to the 2nd gen Talea (as i understand them to be from my memory) include a new arm wand both in shape and wood, a different tower clamping system which makes it easier for on-the-fly VTA, different metalurgy to the tower and bearing, an arm rest (very clever), and new metal finishes (the dark nickel is stunning).

the original Talea is a ground breaking design. wonderful.

the 2nd gen (the final version that i listened to which may not be the very final version) is breathtaking. it was beyond anyone's expectations. these are not incremental tiny improvements; it's a new ballgame to my ears in my system.

My Talea(sl no. 26) arrived in mid December and I reckon I have managed between 75 to 100 hrs listening. Though I did exchange a few mails with Joel, I was hesitant to post any comments until I had achieved some familiarity with the arm and confidence that the setup was right. In the course of the last six weeks or so, my audio minded friends and I are convinced that the Talea is a truly special arm and IMHO probably among the best tonearms currently available. On a personal note the Talea is everything and more than I had hoped.
On every genre and piece of music ranging from rock to blues, jazz and classical, it clearly outperforms the Triplanar by a long, long way. There is a longer sustain and decay to each note. An almost organic wholeness to the music that was missing. I have no intention of selling the Triplanar but there is no great longing to acquire a Lyra Titan. The Triplanar sits on my TW AC 1 forlorn and barely lamented.
The Talea unlike any fixed pivot arm is a bit finicky to set up and it took a fair while to get the arm to balance with the azimuth weights. Initially, I used the A/S weight but have found no sonic disadvantage in abandoning it. IMHO in an arm so finely crafted the less of dangly metal stuff the better. Cart alignment with the Mint LP is a breeze with the single headshell screw. My only gripe is the on the fly VTA adjustment which is a bit of minor pain with the headshell of the Tripnanar in close proximity to the rear of the Talea. Manoeuvring the VTA key is a little tricky but this only applies if you are running two arms in close proximity on a TW AC.
All the comparisons with the Triplanar are in the context of music I am familiar with and love and with all the components in the system remaining constant ie Transfiguration Orpheus L, Nagra VPS phono, TW AC1. I should mention that a Loricraft PRC 4 arrived a few weeks before the Talea.
My renewed thanks to Doug and Dan for showing the light and all the Agoners on this thread and elsewhere who chimed in with their comments.
I guess some, if not all of us, are on a personal audio journey....With the Talea I have reached my vinyl summit.
Cheers and Happy listening

Hi Sunnyboy,

On your Triplanar headshell in close proximity with the rear of the Talea....maybe you need customize armboard, like mine :

Customize armboards

Hi Sunnyboy,

Sounds like the Triplanar and Talea need to swap 'table positions, but I understand that would require re-mounting both.

Glad you are enjoying the music! Alas, I have a few more weeks to wait. :-( On the other hand, I'll have a new XV-1s by then.

Mike, Better have some oxygen handy when you finally get your v2.0 Talea. I heard a v2.0 at my neighbor's house. (Yes, there are two crazy audiophiles living on the same street in Bethesda, MD.) He is using a ZYX and a Doshi preamp with which I am not familiar, but the rest of his system is well known to me, both spkrs and amps. The Talea did do some uncanny things. The sense of space around instruments was more 3D than I have ever heard, and the sense of the reality of the instrument as well, particularly violins, in keeping with the Durand ethos. The bass was a bit recessed compared to mids and treble, but I do not or cannot attribute that to the tonearm, except maybe a VTA adjustment was in order.

I did wonder whether some of the magic could be due to the wooden arm wand in combination with a euphonic kind of "resonance", for want of a better word, that could occur in the unipivot tonearms I used to listen to in days of yore. But who cares, even if there is any validity to that idea?