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
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?
Definitely resonance management. Every part resonates to some degree on a tonearm, and they don't all behave the same due to being made from different materials. Joel's approach certainly seems to sum things up nicely.
Sunnyboy, very happy to "hear" about your results with the Talea. Out of curiousity, were you using a the captive cable Triplanar? or one with the RCA or DIN termination.

Also same question for the Talea since I am not familar with it's termination options...is it hard wired (and if so with what cable?)

Thanks so much and congrats !