Graham Phantom vs Triplaner

Andrew,
Long time no hear. Guess you've been enjoying too much music to waste time posting about it. :-)

Interesting report. You certainly makes it worth thinking about trying a P2. I'll take exception to the statement that VTF drifts with the TriPlanar. It never drifts on mine - ever - and I've never heard about anyone else's drifiting either. No doubting you, I remember you posted about this before. Must be a faulty hex wrench or something!

Anyway, thanks for taking the lead and being brave enough to post honest impressions. What phono cable are you using BTW?

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the report. Glad you're still with us. :-) I have heard from a few guys I share common audio goals with that the P2 is really good. Hopefully, the opportunity to hear one myself will crop up before too long.

I'll have to look up that post about drifting VTF to get the context. Can't say that I understand what you mean at this point.

Dear Aoliviero: As good and different as both tonearms are exist some " tiny " subjects with influence in what you heard and enjoy: same cartridge but different behavior ( quality cartridge performance ) due that the cartridge likes " more " one tonearm than the other ( better overall match. ), different tonearm internal wiring, the quality performance of the tonearm/cartridge that you like it more is the one that meet in a better way ( better trade-offs for your ears. ) your music sound reproduction priorities.

Anyway, good to know that you are enjoying your audio set up.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul

I too have never experienced a 'drift' in VTF. I have 3 arms and they all behave the same way. In fact that has always been one of the nice things that the Triplanar has always been about- set it and forget it.

The Phantom seemed a huge improvement over the 2.2- its good to see that Bob has made further improvement; IME the original Phantom was a good close second to the Triplanar so I'm interested to see what the P-II does.

Hey Doug, Dan and Raul

Yes it has been a long time. I hope all is well with you. You're right I have mostly been happy listening and work has been real busy plus just got done with a book! I have been reading the gon and its good to see some new faces and die-hards.i cant remember the last time I listened to my cd player! I plan to participate more.

Yeah, the vtf issue is probably not fair because it's probably due to me not tightening the hex on the back weight. My guess is the tygon tubing expands and contracts slightly due to small temp shifts and changes the vtf ever so slightly. I can hear the difference between 1.85 and 1.78!

Anyway, the triplanar is an excellent arm and i am not trying to debunk it. As Raul mentions, as well as many others, the Orpheus may just be a better match in the phantom. I figured this could be a tricky post! I have no stake in the matter and just tried to describe it the way I heard it. I'm still keeping the Triplanar and will look for a good match possibly with a mono cart to try that domain. I cant bring myself to let it go. It was my first arm and a part of my love affair with vinyl.

Regarding phono cable im using the silver breeze.

Let me know if any of you are passing through Atlanta. You're welcome to come by. May be a little too warm for a single malt but perfect for a mint julip!

Cheers

Andrew