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Tonearm choices

hey all

newbie here but like many, I have been getting advice from you guys for years....and thank you:)

I recently had all my kit stolen including my TT. If you ever see a TW Raven One with a broken Jelco 10.5 and cantilever-less Benz Wood LP, it was mine :)

I was fortunate to have some a little 'windfall' which I used partly for a new/used Merc and wife and whatever left went to the audio. So I got myself a great deal on a TW AC and Transfiguration Orpheus, Whest Audio MC REF V Mk4 phono preamp, Ayre K5 and V5 pre-power and Wilson Watt Puppy 8.
The puppies they did not take!!! I wonder why?

I have spoken to a few people about arms but have now got it down to about 4 arms. TW Raven tonearm, Graham Phantom, Triplanar OR wait another 6 months to see what happens.

James at Whest Audio recommended the Graham and TW but favours the TW because it might take a while to get a Phantom (so he was told) and he has heard a lot of positives about the TW arm. My dealer recommended the Triplanar because he has one and feels it is MUCH better than the Phantom. A good friend and Phantom user recommends the Phantom but has not heard the other 2.

I like the Whest approach as there is no bias there.
I like the dealer approach as he is a triplanar user.
My friend is a nutcase but I believe him.

Which way do I turn? At present I'm using a modified REGA RB351. It's good but I think you all know what I mean. The amazing thing is the Raven AC/Orpheus/ Whest MC REF V/ makes the Rega sound quite stunning. But I tried an older Graham 2.0 and it just blew the RB351 out of the water.

So the question is has anyone compared these 3 tonearms or is there something else out these?

grubbie

grubscrew
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
Dear Grubscrew, you see - two answers and both show once more, that certain manufacturers and their supporters are much more "remote" Graham.
Personally I strongly advice to give each of the prospective candidates a listen over a few days with your favorite music ( and favorite cartridge ...) and - if possible - in a familiar set-up. You will spending a few thousand US$ and should only trust your own ears and not the "heat of the moment".
Enjoy the search.
Cheers,
D.
mordante
511 posts
 
Don't forget to take a Dynavector tonearm into consideration.
larryi
4,188 posts
 
A friend of mine had both a Graham Phantom and a Basis Vector arm on a Basis table. He much preferred the Basis Vector with his Orpheus cartridge. I preferred that combination too, though this sort of judgment is very system specific. A friend in the industry (a distributor) also much prefers the Vector arm generally, and particularly with the Orpheus (he thinks the older Graham arms actually sound better-more alive).

Another friend uses the Orpheus in an SME 309 arm (with upgraded bearings and the dampening trough) and gets really good performance out of that combination. I also have an Orpheus (the more current low output version), which I have on a Basis Vector arm. It is a very good sounding combination, though I could say it is better than the Lyra Titan that I also have (the Lyra is a bit leaner and more open sounding on top, the Orpheus has a little more upper midrange presence).

I don't think that any reasonable generalizations are possible. While it is hard to actually get a chance to review cartridges or tonearms, actually hearing a combination in one's own system is really the only way to actually tell what is ideal for a particular system and particular taste. I have heard really nice vinyl setups with such a variety of arms and tables that I think one can make any reasonable combination work well. The choice of particular cartridge and phonostage makes much more of a difference, to me, than the choice of arm and even table(I have heard cartridge/phonostage combinations that, no matter what was tried, just could not be made to work together).
glai's avatar
glai
446 posts
 
I have had 5 arms on the AC: triplanar 7, phantom 2, tw 10.5, davinci grandezza and dyna 507mk2. My preferences are tw 10.5 and dyna 507 for the carts I have used. I am not familiar with the orpheus so cannot really advise you specifically.
grubscrew OP
8 posts
 
Thanks all.

I am about to try out the Phantom and TW 10.5. I spoke to a 'friend of a friend of a friend' who uses a Phantom/Transfiguration Pheonix on a TW Raven and says the combination sounds GREAT!

We'll see. It now comes down to how soon these arms are available as I not going to wait 6 months for an arm!

Larryi:
The choice of particular cartridge and phonostage makes much more of a difference

I tend to agree with you about the cartridge and phonostage thing. I managed to get a VERY good deal on the Transfiguration Orpheus which is pretty much the reason I got it. The Whest Audio MC REF V was a must! I heard a few at this price level and the MC REF V was sooooo much better than anything else. I tried it with a Lyra Skala, Transfiguration Orpheus and Ortofon Cadenza Black and all sounded wonderful through it.

Which brings us nicely to the arm and the last part of the equation. I know that there are many here that will swear blind that there are major differences between arms but I am of the school that believes that the differences are not that BIG. I just want to end up with the better (overall) arm.
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