Any feedback on the Graham Phantom

Dougdeacon:

Would you prefer the term "refinements" instead?

Thanks for the feedback.
I have an Oracle Delphi MKV SE. I am planning on purchasing the Phantom. I may delay my purchase until the second manufacturing cycle to ensure that all the bugs associated with a new product are sorted out.

Hello Sirspeedy:

Thanks for your treatise on 2.2 damping fluid level tuning on another thread.

The Phantom seems to be a more rigid design with improved resonance damping across the frequency spectrum. Wouldn’t these improvements be manifested even with lighter cartridges?

Sirspeedy

I share your concerns also, because my Lyra Helikon is only 8 grams. So at the moment I am still on the fence waiting for the second manufacturing run.

I would like to add that ultimately the final verdict as to the success of the new Phantom design would be determined by listening and not by conjecture.

According to some of the information that I have read, the Phantom is recommended for cartridges from 5-18 gms.

Sirspeedy, its time to move on.

Sirspeedy: baiting you was not my intent; I do respect your contributions to these threads. I feel strongly, however, that ultimately the actual compatibility of the Phantom, with various weight cartridges, will be determined by actual listening.

I also have been at this hobby for over 30 years.

Sirspeedy:

I finally took the plunge and purchased the Phantom. The Phantom works well with my 8 gram Helikon (I recall you have a 7 gram cartridge and had some compatibility concerns).

The Phantom was installed over the weekend. It has less than 10 hours of run-in time. However, preliminary indications are promising to say the least, since I have not yet optimized the azimuth, VTA, anti skating, damping fluid, etc. All musical parameters stepped up a notch with the Phantom. I am particularly impressed with the speed of transients and the clarity of instruments at the rear of the sound stage. So far, I would characterize the sound as detailed and coherent, bold yet suave.

Incidentally, I am using the Phantom on an Oracle Delphi MKV SE with a Helikon cartridge.