12 inch Graham Phantom

Given the fact that Graham now offers a 12" tonearm may have several reasons: - he has given some of his above statements from the early 1990ies a second thought .....
- the "today's needs" have changed.
- market demand.
The quote that "a longer tonearm only shows a lower tracking error if the cartridge is properly aligned" - please, give me a break !! - sorry Gentlemen, of course, a preamplifier too will only give good results if you switch it on.
Apparently, today the longer tonearm no longer has those "disadvantages" ..... otherwise it wouldn't be an option.
A certain design principle in high-end audio is officially burden with problems - until it is part of the product range.
Logic - isn't it.

"The 12-inch wand is available for those who insist. It comes with an auxiliary counterweight which is needed to properly balance the longer wand and cartridge. There is a slight tracing improvement, but I have never been a fan of longer wands as they require a more careful setup in order to provide any benefits, and have the disadvantage of more inertia and possible resonance issues compared to the shorter arms."

"But it's what people want, and so we offer it. In truth, this version is quite good and has not shown any real problems in the areas I mentioned. So, if someone really wants it, we can offer it... Retail U.S price is $1200 for the wand and counterweight..."

That came from the horse mouth, Mr Robert Graham written last June 6, 2010. So he's still consistent with what he advocate during 90s.

Aside from the - no doubt and undisputed - increase in inertia (only an important point if serious off-center pressings are played) and effective moving mass (fairly insignificant with top-flight cartridges - again for obvious reasons), the "longer" 12" pivot tonearm has as well some very simple and obvious mechanic-dynamic advantages (especially with warped records ....) to its shorter 9/10" brothers. Its advantages are not limited to smaller tangential error - it is a bit more complex. Which is again the point where any serious modern day audiophile moves out.

Don't give up. It can be done right

But is was not easy. I needed 5 min.