GRAHAM - PHANTOM B-44 REFERENCE TONEARM

GRAHAM/PHANTOM B-44 REFERENCE TONEARM

Graham Phantom B-44 Gets Awarded a Golden Ear Award from The Absolute Sound!

The Graham Phantom B-44 is the result of nearly two years of research into design theory, materials analysis, and extensive testing. It has exceeded our highest expectations. To come straight to the point: it has surpassed the venerable Graham 2.2 in every area of performance. The Phantom B-44 simply is in another plane of performance.
In every way, the Graham Phantom B-44 delivers an unsurpassed musical experience. The improvement is across the board, and includes deep, detailed bass extension, silky-smooth inner detail, and dynamic impact that can be startling when the music calls for it; also, a huge (but not exaggerated) soundstage extending both side-to-side and front-to-back. The Phantom B-44 delivers high-frequency response that is extended, detailed and sparkling; yet, it is exceedingly smooth, and not at all aggressive. The sound seems to float in space, just as one would have heard it at the recording session, and with a sense of ease and naturalness that is free from all sense of strain and effort, permitting hours and hours of pleasurable listening. 100% Money Back Guaranteed!

“Bob Graham has been at the forefront of unipivoted am design for many a year, and this time he has got it exactly right! With the Phantom B-44, he has designed an arm whose presence I cannot hear in the highest resolution systems. The fine adjustments here really do help you zero in on optimum performances with the widest imaginable range of moving coil designs.”

- Harry Pearson, The Absolute Sound, Golden Ear Award, August 2007

Technology:

First, the new Graham has suppressed resonances at every conceivable point. This has been accomplished with exotic materials; for example, the Lorzig-ceramic arm tube has been refined with a slightly larger diameter that is progressionally-extruded (to resist standing waves in the tube) and precision ground. A proprietary-process glass overlay, acting as extensional damping, is applied to further suppress resonances. (As a bonus, this black glass surface provides a very fine appearance, complementing the other tonearm parts).

The armtube itself, easily removable and using Grahams patented alignment system, offers the safety, convenience and accuracy of off-turntable cartridge installation and alignment, as well as allowing quick interchange of multiple pre-mounted cartridges. It is significantly improved from the earlier versions, and attaches to a nearly half-inch wide stainless-steel post-and-connector that supports the armwand under tension, resulting in virtually a one-piece armtube/pivot assembly with high damping.

The connectors avoid the use of common brass as the base material; instead, they use high copper-content phosphor bronze which, in addition to being a better conductor than brass, also has less 'memory'; i.e., it won't deform as much with use, but will keep its proper tension and mechanical strength over time. The internal wiring has also been improved, with purpose-made 4-nines silver incorporating both solid and Litz construction, and with Teflon and silicone insulation jackets for fast transmission speed.

Secondly, Graham has addressed the all-important (and often ignored) area of dynamic balance. Tonearms should have as little inertia as possible; yet, too often, as a result of the correct placement mass distribution being overlooked, they contribute excessive resisting forces in opposition to the requirements of the phono cartridge as it attempts to follow the ups and downs of a typical record. The Phantom B-44, in spite of its robust appearance, has been designed with a very low moment of inertia, so that the majority of phono cartridges can be used with ease and maximum performance.

At the very heart of the Phantom B-44’s design is its unique ability to retrieve groove information; unprecedented in our experience. The key is a magnetic stabilization system which is the subject of patent applications, and which Bob Graham calls Magneglide™. With this unique system, all lateral stability, and a portion of the damping, is provided by powerful neodymium ('rare-earth') magnets, placed in a horizontal line from the pivot point of the tonearm. Working as an adjustable system, Magneglide™ provides, simultaneously, the following: lateral stability, azimuth adjustability, damping assist, true vertical pivoting of the stylus tip with no rotation as the arm is raised, and easily adjusted anti-skate compensation. 

In concert with pivot fluid damping (similar to that used with the Model 2.2), the Magneglide™ system allows normal vertical pivoting of the tonearm in true Neutral Balance, with vanishingly low friction; yet, provides a strong lateral stability that feels almost like fixed bearing arms. (No wobbling of the arm as it is lifted, for instance).
In addition, this dual-damped system forces the Phantom B-44 to pivot in the correct vertical plane of the stylus tip, with no rotation as the arm is raised. No regular uni-pivot can achieve this important geometric requirement. Even a few fixed bearing arms don't get this right! If the vertical motion of the tonearm is in plane of the armtube itself (and not the correct plane of the stylus face angle), the cartridge will tend to tip over to its side as the arm is raised, as when tracking over warps. This will cause noticeable channel imbalance and reduced tracking accuracy.
 
With the patent-pending Magneglide™ design, this achieves a high-load, chatter-free and virtually friction-free damped uni-pivot, combined with true Neutral Balance, and with the all-important geometric accuracy of correct vertical pivoting parallel with the face of the stylus tip.
If all that weren't enough, the Magneglide™ system also permits the application of anti-skate through the magnetic coupling of the design, thereby eliminating ANY direct contact or possible resonance to affect the main pivot assembly of the tonearm. The anti-skate system is completely independent, mechanically, and is easily adjusted either by a thumb-wheel rotation or sliding motion (user's choice) of the bias weight for minute adjustments from near zero force to 3+ grams.
 
Other refinement details abound: the use of a propriortary Swiss-made matched cup-and-pivot made of tungsten carbide (far stronger than any steel pivot) as the super-low-friction main uni-pivot bearing, a refined and far-improved removable armwand with our patented alignment system, the easiest and most accurate of all alignment systems, plus an increased VTA height range with calibrated vernier scales, a wide range of cartridge weight compatibility (5-18 grams), and two mounting profiles: the standard Graham Custom Mount and an SME mount.
The Custom Mount is the same as with the 2.2 and so the Phantom B-44 can be mounted in all 2.2 installations without any modification to the turntable. Similarly, the SME mount will allow the Phantom to be used on all SME profile mounts.
 
The Phantom B-44 is a true 'drop-in' replacement tonearm, and the proof will be in the listening. Claims abound in the high-end market and it can become confusing as to what's really correct; however, once you experience the Phantom B-44 for yourself, we know you will agree that this is, truly, one of the finest tonearms  ever produced.