I've used both a Grahm 2.2 and an Alphason Hr100s with excellent results. No too heavy, therefore, it did not throw off the sprung balance.
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I have used the Oracle SME 345 and the Audiomods Series 5. I prefer the Audiomods. I wrote about my findings in this thread. It has other helpful info as well. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/are-there-any-delphi-oracle-users-who-can-comment |
I've used the Graham 2.0 with Mk III, IV, & V, and currently use the Graham Phantom III Supreme with my mk VI v.2. Both arms have worked extremely well with all my Dephii. I did have to use the stronger spring when I installed the Phantom. I think Bob Graham original designed his first arms using a Delphi, but I could be misremembering that. |
I am using a Graham 2.2T with my Oracle V. From reviews I have perused, it seems that SME may not be the best choice for Oracle in spite of Oracle's commitment to SME. Fremer preferred the sound with the Graham several years ago, more recently Dudley preferred the Abis. (I have not directly compared). The Graham replaced the Alphason I had used on my Oracle I/II and is a big improvement. |
Initially I had a Magnepan Unitrac on our table and upgraded to a Graham 20 years ago. It got the 2.2 bearing and Ceramic armwand. Currently running a Graham Phantom, that's by far the best arm thus far. I've been able to balance the Phantom with and without counterweight successfully even with the additional weight over the other arms. |
gregorytownsend I've looked at the Graham TA's, & I see there's a series of wire & pullies in their design. As Scotty said (Mr. Scott) "the fancier the plumbing the more likely to clog the drain" So I ask, aren't the Graham's fickle, & need ajustment due to expansion/contraction with that paper thin wire? I'm just asking. I see the Zeta is a more straight forward design & appears to be considerably more robust. As with the Graham, I like the look of the Wilson Benesch ACT tonearm design as well, but then there's that chinsey counterweight ball hanging from a feeble strand of wire, & I think ... well, there's an Achilles' heel in the design waiting to go wrong. Your opinion ..... based on your experience ??? Respectfully - of course. |
I prefer unipivots over gimbals and agree that some of the azimuth/antiskate methods are a bit finicky. There is nothing I would describe as fickle or need constant adjustment with the Phantom. The Magneglide azimuth adjustment is also far easier to set up than the outrigger side weights were.. The anti skate is a weight/pulley situation, it's an approximation at best but I leave it close to the recommended setting for stylus weight. |