Looking for a great arm that is low maintenence

The Graham Phantom is a superb tonearm. It should be on your short list of possible tonearms.

Great post Sirspeedy. I feel exactly the same way about Graham. It is way easier and more precise than the SME IV+ and V my friends own. The Ceramic wan is a must. I have both and ceramic is quieter and smoother sounding ( in high freq espeically .)

Some folks told me that they feel the 1.5T is better than the 2.2. What's your opinion?

Chang,everyone is entitled to their opinion,and I'm not going to come off as the Arm Police(re the 1.5t vs 2.2).If they like it ,fine with me.My friend went from the 1.5t to the 2.2 and we felt the 2.2 was significantly more revealing.Just our opinions.Best luck!

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Sirspeedy,
Thanks for the Excellent post and very level headed advice for Nrchy. Was your Tri-Planar a model 7 or a previous version? My understanding from those (whose ears I trust) that have heard both, is that the current model 7 is dramatically better than the older Tri-Planar's
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I currently own (love) the Graham 2.2 with Ceramic armwands (3) and heard the Tri-Planar 7 in my system for during a long weekend. I have never had the SME IV or V in my system (so I am useless there). When I did my research while making the Graham 2.2 buying decision, the SME's were taken off my short list towards the end based on friend’s comments that had owned or heard them extensively.
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In my system, the Tri-Planar 7 was clearly more dynamic with more detail and better attacks than the Graham 2.2 along with stronger and more focused bass. I still prefer the Graham to the Tri-Planar 7. The Tri-Planar was a little bit too edgy for my taste, but other people clearly preferred the Tri-Planar (my room is still a bit on the bright side and that might account for my preference for the Graham 2.2).
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Having said all of the above, I would easily prefer a Schroder Reference to either the Graham 2.2 or the Tri-Planar. If my room’s handling of sound was better (and will be someday) , I could easily see myself preferring the Tri-Planar to the Graham 2.2. I do think that the Schroder Reference might be the arm that ends one’s lifelong chase for tonearm Heaven.
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I have a two-armed table and I imagine that I will keep my Graham 2.2 after I get a Schroder Reference.
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There are lot’s of options for you here Nate, but your short list is looking pretty good.
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Rgds,
Larry
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Nate,

Get any Schroder and mount any cartridge to it. Get the Triplanar VII and use a silver wire ZYX and there will be no edge. Either option is killer, IMO. Geez, I know that others will disagree. If we could somehow get together soon you could hear what I'm talking about. Honestly though, we are talking about very subtle differences and without another arm to A/B directly in your system you'll never be aware that you may have made a slightly lesser choice. You're not going to be unhappy with any of the ones you are considering.