TW Acustic 10.5 and Graham Phantom Supreme II

I've also been looking for info on comparative listening impressions among a few highly regarded arms such as the Phantom 2 and Reed, teamed up with any Raven, preferably the One. I prefer a bit more of an up front but not aggressive presentation as opposed to one that places the soundstage well behind the speakers and contributes to making instruments sound relatively more distant, smaller and uninvoving. The cartridges I would be using are either the Dynavector XV-1S or Benz Ebony LP (now superseded by the LP-S).

Opus, I have Raven 1 with the new power supply, and phantom II arm with an LP-S. The sound is sublime and wonderful, very detailed, timbrally accurate, quiet, providing a beautifully wide and deep stage, and superb timing. I haven't heard anything better than what i am hearing now out of my system.

Opus 88
You can't go wrong with either arm. Both great with the XV1s.

Philb7777,

You need to know what cartridge.

The Phantom is a unipivot compared to The TW which is a 10.5 inch gimballed arm. Very different designs.

Dgad, I also have a Dyna XV-1s. I've heard the that XV-1s anatomically is a poor choice for the TW10.5 as it and the headshell don't give the pins much room for proper alignment which in turn makes setting up the cart for proper alignment a problem.

I'm used to unipivots with my JMW 10.5i and the Dyna is a good match for it. I'm sure the Phantom and TW10.5 are in a different league though.

Phib7777, if it true that the XV-1s had a phyisical issue mounting on the 10.5 that is unfortunate. But as has already ben said I don't think you could go wrong either way.

I have not heard the Phantom.

But, I have the Raven AC and the 10.5 along with a Triplanar VII. The 10.5 is my arm of choice but as you know the cartdrge used can have a huge impact on what arm one likes.

The current setup is much better than the Aries 2 with 10.5 arm that I started out with. It also cost a lot more. But then at one point I added the SDS and the super platter that was available a couple years ago so it was not inexpensive.

The difference from my VPI rig and what I have now is significant. The speed controller and motor and table are just better. But both arms alow for a very fine degree of setup with the ZYX Universe cartdrige with is the big key for the best performance. Some carts are less fussy from what I have read but I would have hard time considering an arm with out easily repeatable fine settings.

I have a lot of fun with vinyl but it takes some effort. You have a very nice system and I think you will easily enjoy what ever upgrade you end up with. Good luck.

TD