Graham Phantom vs. Phantom II

Bob is a genius.

Agree, he always thinks useful improvements. This is a good addition.

I did a search for a picture of this new II, but all renewed the text, but all pics show model I.
Can someone shoot a pic from II+ gauge and link it here?

after listening and comparing...there is a new King born, true in tonal color, sensational from dynamic range and probably the real thing in analog of today, the Masterpiece from Mastermind

I'll do something, I do very rarely
"Kudos Mr. Graham"

you should triple the price, even then it is a bargain compared to others

After using the Phantom II for some time now, I would like to say, it fascinates me more and more. I guess it is based on the new Armtube (probably on the new wire but this i can not check) and it is a excellent match with the Lyra systems. They are designed to move a lot of their energy into the arm and the better that one is (Bearing etc.) the more subtle details are offered, they are not "smeared" like with other Arms (in comparison). Another miracle for me, with that Arm the Lyras show a kind of "musicality" which is really rare to get. Seems, those Lyras have a very high limit which is not available for every Arm. The high frequencies are not sharp like most users write, they have a effortless speed with a holographic 3-dimensional body. I had a lot of carts, but they can show a killer performance. Even with VERY complex music (Spanish Flamenco) I can follow every instrument sharply in focus. We will see what goes on but I bet, this will be one of the great Arms when out of production.

Perrew, I did try most Lyras with the Phantom II and my favorite one is the Helikon. It is so much better than the much more expensive Koetsu RSP, it is depressing.
Haven't tried the Titan i, will do it in the next days..

Good question. You are on the right track...when I would have the chance for a custom made cartridge, I would prefer AlNiCo's. But to be honest, these alone are not the secret, there are outstanding cartridges (Miyabi for example) which sound very life-like and some don't (XV-1s) or you go to one of these FR-cartridges, they have a kind of Pysical Force which is rare to get. Even today. But then you need a different Arm and a real high gain Phono section.
But to go back, the Helikon is right, when you have the chance to get one used, try it. There is worse out there.

Personally I always have a problem, when there is a discussion about a Tonearm which has "a or no synergy" with a turntable. What does it mean?
A Turntable which has lots of internal vibrations can't be used with a clever made Tonearm, which has none and it is obvious after a short time, that the TT is the problem? Or a Tonearm which has average bearings mounted on a clever made Turntable which can show what is on it?
The Phantom Arm is probably the best Arm made today, it works with a lot of cartridges on a very good level, not with everything, but most. Clever design and excellent from quality.
Turntable Design can have a lot of differences (Material mix, suspension, Platter quality ....), but Designers are Humans like you and me and they have their favorites, too. When someone thinks, this Arm is the best for his turntable, why not..Lots of people are happy with units I would never touch...try it and learn :-)

Well, when I would be a Dealer I would write the same.
And when I would be a customer, who has money but no idea, I would agree.
Most Audiophiles WANT to spend money, they don't want to KNOW what the unit really does. They "like" it or not. Or. they read something in a magazine and save a few lines in their memory and after a while it is transformed to "Knowledge".
But to be fair, only new products makes the money go round. And when something is really better (or clever made) than others, and cheaper, and limited...then it can be dangerous. The goal is the "Balance".
It is the way it is.

We should try to take it not too serious. I dreamed about it, because I am sensitive and can't stand it when you don't love me anymore.I had a Dream,
there is Restaurant at the end of the universe.
But honestly, it is not a Restaurant, more a very unfriendly low pub, where only
fat, dark, bad smelling pieces of meat are served, with a glibber, awful looking sauce.

That's it. Nothing else. Always the same. Every Day.
And for drinking only warm Cherry Coke is available.
In this Restaurant at the end of the Universe all High Enders are taken prisoner, who
had a lot of sins in their regular life.

You will meet people, who rated the power of their amps once of more often in Horsepower, those who made a lot of money with cable- or
Rackvoodoo , those who hyped units which create Ear cancer when listening too long.
Or those who sold their inferior cheap made speakers to those unlucky enthusiasts who believed in reviews.

Btw. in that Restaurant you will find one or the other High End Journalist, too.

In this Restaurant you will hear day in, day out Chris de Burgh only, from Mini-Disc via a continuous
clipping Pre-/Amp combination linked to 6 way speakers with defect midrange chassis.
I had that dream last night and I have absolutely no idea what was real in that dream.

But I liked it very much.

To be dismissed by Syntax because of his dealership status ...

I am not a dealer. I am a regular customer who bought everything from Dealer(s) at the price they wanted to have. I have no contact or support to any manufacturer. I am pretty sure, they don't know me at all.

Some information from my experience with Graham Arms.
One or the other may think, I want to hype it, or trying to support the manufacturer...that#s not true. I don't care about that. I am interested in Performance only.

All started with a Graham 20. de Luxe, I guess it was 2002 (or so), at that time it was mounted on a Basis Debut with vacuum and I bought multiple Armboards for other arms to compare.
At that time I listened to SME V, Schroeder Reference, Triplanars and a few more I forgot
Then the upgrade to 2.2 was made, I got it and my thought was, that Graham made another step ahead.
Other Arms didn't move on, only cosmetically "improvements" (cable, head-shell) which had no improvement in Performance.
I sold it, when the Phantom was available and it was obvious, that Graham was able to re-think his own - successful - design. That Arm was not only a step forward, it was a jump.
Very impressive.
At that time I got other Arms (DaVinci, Kuzma, FR's ...), bought another Graham Armwand to compare cartridges etc.
Then I sold that Phantom, because I thought I didn't need it. After a few months I regret and bought a new one again. This one stayed at my home until last year.
One of my friends did visit me and asked for it and I did let it go. After 8 years with various Graham Arms my System was running with other Designs.
After some months I was at a Linn LP12 Demonstration, the new LP12 with Keel and Ekos SE were introduced. Never really a Fan from either I did listen to a comparison between the latest Ekos and Ekos SE and I heard remarkable differences in their Frequency range and in reproducing the tone.
SE Arm has Titan parts, I saved that experience in my memory and went home.
Months later I heard from the Phantom II with Titan Armwand, a red lamp started to glow and my interest in that Arm started to grow.
And I asked here at Audiogon about news (see headline) and then I got one (and compared again).
The result is written.
Some want to beat me because I write something they don't want to know. Sorry, but when it is allowed to hype something which is nice but nothing special, it is not allowed to write about that???
"Opinions" are fine when you want to discuss about something you don't know, but knowledge/experience is helpful to push the curtain.
At least for me.

... that's just it, your delivery shows extreme arrogance, a personal attack and is socially

Not true.

Nice Day

Let's go back to normal

Agree with DT, but the SME V can be tuned:
Silver cable inside (Silver carries 6% more information than everything else, Graham uses Silver cables for years btw.)
When you can do some work at the Base, the V reacts quite sensitive to it.
Bottom: lead-bloc (or similar)
Middle: Acrylic (just to try)
Top: SME Base

Don't work at the screws or the bridge...

Do Phantom II armwands work on Phantom I arms?

yes

How do I know all this some may ask?

Huh, the mother of all questions... :-)