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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
larryi
3,791 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.
larryi
3,791 posts
 
Grubscrew,

I've only heard a Whest phonostage once, and I thought it sounded pretty good. I currently use a tube phonostage myself (Viva Fono), though I've owned a few solid state units in the past (Linn Linto, the phonostage built into a Levinson No. 32). One of the very best phonostages that I've heard was the Lyra Connoisseur, which is a solid state unit too, though it is WAY up there in price and no longer made because the European RoHS recycling laws have made critical parts unobtainable. I am just curious, what other phonostages did you try?

You are very fortunate that you get to actually try different arms. I would bet that either would work out well for you. As noted earlier, within my circle of friends, the Orpheus was heard with a Basis Vector, Graham Phantom and an SME 309. The only "objective" measurement was tracking ability based on an old Shure test record with flute, bells and harp played at increasingly higher modulation levels. For this one test, the Phantom and Vector had comparable tracking ability; the SME 309 was better (tracked at one level up from the two). In any case, the tracking abilities of these arms/cartridge were WAY beyond what is needed for regular records. I have not had issues with tracking with the Orpheus, or with the Lyra Titan.

Keep us informed of your trial.
blackburn
16 posts
 
Grubscrew
I have it on good authority from a audio enthusiasts acquaintance which owed a TW Raven AC which incidentally ordered it purley on testimonials of others.
After a solid year with it he kept the arms and quikly sold the Raven for top dollar thanks to all the internet support.


This notion among other Raven owners that paired a Graham Phantom arm to their Raven is a callous mistake.
In other words this arm is not a good match to the table at all.

Why oh why do raven owners continue to support and rave about this combination????
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