Compliments to Graham


I just added the 2.2 deluxe by graham to an already excellent system, and was startled at how much better it got. I always knew that there was room for improvement but didn't expect it to be this good. My tt VPI tnt with the outer peripheral ring and a Sumiko blackbird. Phono is the E.A.R. 834p, with some mods, the amps Simaudio p-5 and w-5, speakers the incredibly good Merlins.
I can't stress enough how real the music sounds now especially with the lp: "Jazz at a pawnshop."
The arm I replaced was the clearaudio satisfy.
Would like to hear other a-goners experience with their analog rig and would like to hear suggestions.
Just purchased the cardas golden reference din to rca cable, can't wait to hear it being shipped now.
pedrillo
Dear Rlawry: What great quality sound reproduction performance through the AQ 7000Fe5, unfortunatelly a cartridge out of production.

Mine is mounted in an Audiocraft AC4400 ( where the Graham comes ) and really shine!!!!!

This cartridge is a serious challenge to any cartridge out there: hard to beat!!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
I too have a Graham 2.2 ceramic wand. I went from linear Tracking Mitsushi 1981. Roy Hall TT 1990. Acoustic Final Tool with Rega 600 2001. Graham Robin 2003. And finally Graham 2.2 in 2003. The 2.2 is a great tonearm. It tracked my Grado a lot better than the Robin and Rega. More detail. A Benz L2 is my cartridge now and its the best yet.
You should look into replacing the bearing with the newest one from Graham. It came out a few months ago for $250 and I believe that it will fit your arm. It is very simple to do and you will be amazed at the improvement. I just purchased a new Phantom B-44 this past June and a few weeks ago upgraded to this new bearing. You will hear a noticible improvement in detail and base performance.
I have gone the upgrade path with Graham arms, starting with a 1.5t and Merrill Heirloom turntable I bought in 1992 to replace a Rega Planar 3 setup. I upgraded over the years from a Grado cartridge to an Audioquest AQ7000nsx and replaced it with the AQ7000Fe5 when the nsx cantilever finally fatigued and broke. Later additions to the 1.5t were the ceramic armwand and then the 2.2 bearing. Late last year I traded in my 1.5t/c for a Graham Phantom arm and their latest bearing with a SME 20/2 table. Music has a whole new level of dynamism and detail.