Phantom B44 vs The SME V Tone Arm

No SME V comparison can be considered valid unless you consider upgrading the tonearm cable & the internal arm cable. Only then will you get the maximum quality from the tonearm. None of the comparisons done by MF had this modification done. The tonearm cable inside the PHantom is far superior (to most people) than the internal cable inside the SME V and hence any comparison would not be a level playing field. The SME V is still considered a standard to judge against and is a great "starter" tonearm. In addition it excels in bass reproduction and controling the cartridge due to the nature of its design. I can't speak for the Graham but many others can.

Pcosta,

I never changed my internal cable but I did change the external cable. I used Harmonic Technology Crystal Silver Phono cables. It was a night & day difference. As they say, veils were lifted. Treble became very extended and bass solidified. The tuby bass was reduced. The internal cable within the arm is similar to the external cable so the "cable bottleneck" is still there. I can only imagine how much better it would be after the internal wire is upgraded.

The big advantage of a gimbaled arm is the stability of the cartridge. Cartridge life will be extended compared to most unipivots.