Mounting a Graham Phantom II on a VPI Aries 3


I have recently mounted a Graham Phantom 2 onto a Vpi Aries 3 with the aluminum platter found on the VPI classic. While going through the process I found some information on line but nothing was a complete guide to do this from start to finish. The only way I ever got this done was with help from Bob Graham and some trial and error. To limit the problems of anyone interested in this combo in the future I wanted to document what I did. I’m not going to give a full review of the Phantom 2 or the combo, just a few comments. I’m just trying to let anyone interested in this combo to know that it is possible to mount this arm on this table without a ton of problems.
mfalcon
Which armboard did you use? Was it a blank from VPI? Was it one cut for SME? I have a SME IV.Vi mounted on my Aries 3, so I might be interested in other arms.
Thank you for going where no man has gone before,
Mike
I'm sorry, I copied my post from a word file and didn't copy the whole thing. There is a limit to the characters per post so I have to do it over a few.
Part 2

I had been running the Aries 3 with a JMW 9 for a while. I had upgraded to the Aries 3 with intention of upgrading the arm afterwards. When I upgraded my Aries 3 I had intended on getting the VPI Super Platter but was told by VPI that they are not able to produce them at the time and there upgrade would be the all aluminum platter on the classic. I just went with that instead of going the route of trying to find a platter on ebay or audiogon. They are available but the aluminum platter was not very expensive relatively and I am very content with it. The reason the platter is so important is because without spacers the Phantom can’t be mounted. There isn’t enough vertical clearance. I can’t say whether this is true with the stock Aries 3 platter but with the Aluminum platter 2 spacers are required.

Unfortunately I don’t get the chance to listen to a ton of different arms and tables. In my area the Hi-Fi shops are more video focused and less analog focused. When I travel I sometimes get to listen to others gear, and have friends whose gear I listen to. At this point, the Phantom II is the finest tonearm I’ve listened to. By a good bit. I have a number of theories on why this is, but I believe a large reason is that it is so easy to make adjustments on that I can dial it in right without much effort. I don’t find this to be true of VPI arms, I’ve listened to the JMW 9 and 10s(not the 12). So, when I was ready to upgrade my arm I decided to go with the Phantom II over any other arms. I emailed Bob Graham and he told me I would need a custom arm board. They had the specs for one but did not have it in stock. It took about 4-6 weeks for them to have one fabricated. Once it was done Bob Fedex’d it. I attempted to mount the Phantom only to discover there was not enough vertical clearance. So Bob sent me 2 spacers. When using both there was enough clearance with a little bit to spare. I’m able to adjust VTA as much as reasonably possible.

The next problem came with the cable. When using the custom mount and 2 spacers there was not room to plug the cable into the arm. So I had to use a jigsaw to cut out space in the spacers for the cable. I measured what I need, figured the exact position that I plug the cable in, and drew it on the spacer. This wasn’t a big deal. The wood that the spacers were made from is very difficult to cut but using a fine blade I got it without much problem. Now I was able to mount the arm and cartridge. I won’t go through the setup procedures as it was pretty easy and the manual covers it well. All I will say is that it is so much more pleasant than dealing with VPI arms.

I just wanted to quickly comment on the sound. I’m using a Sumiko Blackbird and have to say that the set up is fantastic. For my first 20 records after setting up a cartridge I usually list to records that I know will sound good to make it easy to detect any problems with setup. I have a ton of 50s and 60s Jazz which is my main passion but a lot of these records are not flawless and I don’t like to confuse a problem with the record and a problem with setup. After my initial setup I’m about 50 records in and haven’t made any adjustments after the 3rd record. I’ve check the Azimuth with a Fozgometer a few times and after the initial setup with a test record it stays near flawless. I’ve rechecked the cartridge Alignment which unsurprisingly stays the same. I use a digital gauge to check tracking force and it stays the same to the second decimal place each time I measure. I now play my records without distortion that I would occasionally get with my JMW9. The presentation is quiet, not overly bright, and has deep quality bass. Compared to the JMW9 this is a different world.

My next step is to mount my Miyajima Premium mono cartridge. I intend to by a second armwand soon but for now I’m just going to switch out. The Premium is a fantastic cartridge and I can’t wait to see how it sounds with this setup. If there is interest I will follow up with my opinions on this.

Mike
I've had a VPI TNT for about 22 years and for 20 yrs I've used Graham arms. Actually I've never tried the well regarded JMW arms, they weren't released back when I bought the table and I've just stayed with Graham (after switching from my initial SME-V).

Agree about the great ease of adjustability with the Phantom II.
One of the best features IMO is the 'Micropoise' level - absolutely brilliant for adjusting VTA/SRA for different record thicknesses. After 2 yrs with the Phantom II I don't think I want to use an arm without this feature.

I wonder why more arms don't use something similar?