SME 20/2 & Graham Phantom issue

Jaytea, I believe your description of your "SME" base is the same as the one I originally had. Yes, my newer "Graham" base was developed shortly after I had the SME base and yes, it is stationary. Since I did not have to change the holes in the plinth for mounting the arm, you should be able to get this base from Graham and just bolt it to the plinth. I think the Graham base is now considered his standard base for most tables. I am not sure why there is so much confusion as to the type of base used for the SME table. I found the Graham base to give better resolution and extension in the bass and better dynamic range, as well as more detail in the midrange and treble. Part of this may have also been due to the newer, sharper pivot bearing. BTW, if you move the turntable after setting it up, you may want to check VTF when you get the table in place. When Brooks Berdan set VTF at 1.85 g I got it home and noticed initially that it would mistrack on dynamic passages. I checked VTF and it had fallen to about 1.5 g. I think the arm had "settled" onto the new bearing. I haven't had any problems since resetting the VTF.

Hello jameswei,it still sounds good if you position your Phantom tonearm in a bigger angle to fit your VPI ring. The TT and tonearm geometry isn't correct. It is ok but not maximize your Phantom performance. I know Granham makes a armwand that is 1/2" longer to fit in VPI (or other) TT that uses the ring. The hole in my arm board was make to fit longer tonearm.

Hi Samleung,

Thanks for your comments. I am not able to change my armboard but I can play without the ring clamp if it makes a real difference. Can you explain why you think "The TT and tonearm geometry isn't correct"? And, why is the performance less than "maximized"?

RLawry:
I guess i'm gonna just keep this mount..it took me 8 months waiting for the arm, and i dont want to send it back it for modification. Bob Graham says the Phantom is supposed to be poisitioned like SME arms on SME table..so i guess it's OK.
Did you notice the change it makes when you play around with the fluid damping? It makes so much difference ! I ended up with the fluid just pass the bottom of the square shank. More than that, the arm sounded too damped.
Great arm ! It makes my Koetsu Urushi sound full, warm like analog tape, great focus as well. I cant wait to get another arm wand next week to mount my Lyra Helikon on !

Hi Jameswei, I'm no expert to provide knowledge and theory behind the geometry of TT and tonearm. You can find of this knowledge in other website. I use Wally protractor to set up my tonearm, it sounds ok to me.
I also find it sounds quite amazingly diferent if I don't use the ring. With the ring, the tonearm is riding stably along the horizontal pane and result in more signal is picked up by cartridge. Most important of all and what I like most is the stable soundstage it gets from using the ring.

If you can't position/anchor your tonearm on top of the platter spindle (as per manual installation instruction), then the angle of your cartridge isn't placed in the best postion on the platter.

I suggest you call Bob Granham to discuss your problem. I tell you, if your tonearm and cartridge is set up properly, you get sharp and focus image, detail with good extension (assuming your speaker is placed properly and synchronies with your room acoustic). Use Carol Kidd All My Tommorrow Lp to check your center image focus. Her voice should be small relative to your overall soundstage image.