Any feedback on the Graham Phantom

Dear Mr. Graham,
You wrote:
"(why else would Rolex and other fine watches use ruby if it weren't for better performance? The cost difference is insignificant).. "
The main advantage of the use of rubies, sapphires or even diamonds(endstones only) as watch bearings is that they are chemically inert and will not be affected by the oil turning acidic over time. While other bearing materials can be polished/burnished to a high surface quality, this smooth/flat surface will develop tiny "craters" as more and more material is "washed out" by the acid.
This happens with ruby equipped watches too. But it is the burnished steel pivot which suffers first, then, as more and more foreign particles find their way into the gap between pivot and bushing, the pivot acts as a file and destroys the finish of the ruby.
And when you are selling hundreds of thousands of watches, the price difference becomes significant.
For an interesting read on Unipivot arm design and as proof that the basis for your new design is well founded but not exactly revolutionary, I recommend:
"Une approche rationelle du bras de lecture
1. Considerations théoretiques"
by Gérard Chrétien
in a summary of articles from the french magazine "L'Audiophile", called "Selection de L'Audiophile", tome2: Les Transducteurs
published by editions frequences 1985(the article first appeared a few years earlier...)
As mentioned in an earlier post, the bearing in my arms can be(and has been) executed so that there is no variation
in tracking force when VTA is changed. The tracking force will ALWAYS vary when any arm/cart combo tracks a warped record. Inertia can´t be overcome...
A question: Am I correct in my assumption that the Phantom has higher friction in the horizontal plane than the 2.2 as it has to move the Magneglide assembly with it as it travels across the record?
Hoping to meet you in person at one of the upcoming shows, I remain with admiration,

Frank Schröder(Schröder tonearms)

Dear Sirspeedy,
You wrote:
"don't be like some other designers who,though understandably limited in time, expect potential sales to occur by word of mouth as opposed to "in the flesh" exposure."
Though you didn´t refer to me personally, this is clearly in reference to our earlier exchange and I have to tell you that you seem to belong to those forum members who spend alot more time writing posts than reading responses. I DID appear "in the flesh" at shows countless times, CES 2005 being the last example. I told you that the Munich show, Europes largest high end show, is too close to allow for a trip to New York. And quite obviously, the list of hifi mag- and internet-reviews I posted escaped your attention. It should be obvious that I do not expect potential customers to rely on word of mouth recommendations. Fact is, no manufacturer can tell the potential customer on what to base his/her purchase decision. I´ll repeat myself and recommend to get in touch with Mr. Huschens(based in NJ) or come to Denver(RMAF 2005) for an in depth demo.

Until then,
all the best,

Frank Schröder

Dear sirspeedy,
Thanks for your response. From time to time it seems that, whatever one tries to accomodate the often well founded requests/demands of (potential) customers, one just can´t win. Actually it is quite healthy to accept early on in the game that you can´t turn every LP lover into a customer. But this pond is large enough to feed all the fish in it and I am certain that almost everyone in the business of turntable/arm/cartridge making is trying hard to give the audience a chance to listen to their babies. When purchasing a 10000$table, 5000$ arm and equally expensive cart, what is spending 200$ for a planeticket and an additional 100$ for a hotelroom? A good investment.
Come to Denver and I deduct the above amount should you decide to buy an arm. Still there is no substitute for an in-home audition, with your system and no pressure to hear all the other rooms too before the show is over... I´m just a little bit too far from where you are to offer that service :-)
Keep up the passion and keep it fun too,

Frank

P.S.: I also believe there will be one or more Graham Phantoms demoed at the RMAF, an equally good reason to come.

Hi John,
Lots of Thai, Vietnamese and excellent Chinese restaurants in my neighborhood(and no Starbucks nearby...)! Drop me a mail again when that next trip is in sight. I´ll be glad to further extend your appreciation of my hometown :-)

Cheerio,

Frank

Dear Mr. Graham,
First of all, my apologies if my post created the impression I was trying to raise doubts or question the quality or superiority of the Phantom over your previous designs. The question about the Magnaglide tracker was a "real" question, a question about a design choice and the wheighing of its merits versus potential drawbacks. I am totally satisfied with your answer.
I addressed the issue of neutral balance not to belittle the value of the magneglide feature, but wanted to point out that neutral balance in unipivots had been discussed on a theoretical and practical level many years ago. Anyone who reads the articles I was refering to, will find that they make a strong point in favor of the Phantom.
Rest assured that I never publically comment on the sound of other tonearms, I totally agree with your point about the consumer doing the judging. But when it comes to design philosophies, choice of materials and sometimes even aesthetics, I enjoy the exchange, partially because it is the exchange with likeminded people that is part of the fun in this hobby/profession. My word isn´t gospel and I have taken a strong beating before, but I´d still rather write and sign my own posts instead of, say, telling somweone else to do it for me.
To put this to a hopefully happy end, I promise not to comment on a specific design feature in the future (except when asked about my own arms) and suggest to the moderator to remove my earlier post(03-19.05;"Dear Mr. Graham...") within the next few days.

No hard feelings, and I owe you a drink(Munich, Denver?)

Frank Schröder