Any feedback on the Graham Phantom

Dear Sirspeedy,

All I can say is that the new arm has made a significant improvement in my system. Be it reductions in arm resonance, distortion, improved bearing, or the addition of Great Dane Doo Doo, the detail and rendtion of acoustic space is something else!

You are in for a real treat with this arm.

A gezunt ahf dein kop!

Steve

Steve,I have NO DOUBT that the arm IS great.I did not realize you owned one.If I were running a heavier cart. than what I have now,or, if I ever upgrade to a higher mass one,there is no question I would seriously consider a Phantom.So long as I didn't go for an air bearing design,which I love,but,they are a pain to run(tubing,pumps etc.).And, it is here,in this thread, that I'm not kibbitzing you!!However,think how great it would be if the magnets were both vertically and horizontally applied.Well,I can always dream!!Good luck,and I hope you get real pleasure from your records.

I would think a completely magnetic bearing would have its own resonance challenges since there would be no solid support.

I think Graham explains neutral balance on his website as a benefit from having the arm's center of mass at the pivot, rather than below the pivot as with the 2.2 and other unipivot designs.

I agree it's premature to judge the Phantom's performance with a low mass cartridge without actually listening.

Gentlemen,
Not having owned a 2.2 & not being an engineer as well as not caring a great deal about how a result is achieved I will say this. I have the Phantom with the Nightengale II on a Transrotor La Roccia with the Boulder 2008 phono stage.The quality of sound is quite remarkable to say the least. What can be said in my setup is that the slightest amount of adjustment, either VTA, Azimuth, Tracking Force or Silicon Fluid create major soundstage changes. At this point I cannot find any specific areas of weakness, only time will tell any shortcomings. As an aside my XLR interconnect from the Boulder to a Mac C-100 was a subject of considerable concern. Changing this interconnect created large changes in frequency balance & timing. The best cable so far has been the JPS Superconductor 2. I am a bit concerned over the considerable changes with cables as this has been by far the most sensitive application I have experienced. Thanks to all who have contributed experiences with the Fluid damping etc.. It helped to dial in the phono rig. I cannot say what is better or best, just that the Phantom appears to be a very fine precision instrument.

Bigdog,

What phono cable are you using with the Phantom?