Graham Engineering Phantom III Tonearm

[Mr Spock]

The Phantom III has a removable black-colored titanium armwand (as opposed to a removable headshell) that extends to the bearing housing. Inside the armwand is a 5-pin connector that secures itself to the mating connector on the bearing-housing end. A precision fit is made possible by a keyed mechanical interface that includes a threaded attachment mechanism. Inside the bearing housing is the business end of the ’arm, containing the bearing cup and pivot point on the bearing cap. The concave polished-tungsten bearing cup is pressed within a stainless-steel cylinder, designed to be filled with a measured amount of damping fluid. The bearing cap houses the tungsten-carbide bearing point that fits into the bearing cup once installed. The bearing cap is threaded for secure attachment to the bearing housing. The rear counterweight is attached to a precision threaded shaft that makes tracking-force adjustments easy and repeatable. There is an anti-skate assembly located on the opposite side of the armwand from the ’arm lift. On the same side of the ’arm as the anti-skate mechanism, attached to the bearing housing, is the Magneglide magnetic stabilization system. This system serves to stabilize the ’arm pivot and keep it from rocking unstably side-to-side, like many unipivot ’arms do. (Its function is easily visible when handling the ’arm.) Additionally, the Magneglide allows for precise azimuth adjustment and serves to isolate the anti-skate function from direct contact with the main bearing. On the opposite side of the bearing housing from the Magneglide is the VTA height adjustment tower. This precision adjustment lets the user set the proper height for optimal cartridge VTA/SRA. (There is a set screw on the mounting collar that is loosened to allow height adjustment up or down, then tightened to lock the ’arm in place. A bubble level on the bearing housing next to the VTA height adjustment tower will show when the ’arm is leveled.)

With Etna, Atlas SL, Colibri XGP, or Hana SL on the Phantom III, the ’arm traced the groove of Dire Straits’ “So Far Away” and “Money for Nothing” like it was nothing. On this Mobile Fidelity reissue, the solid bass drum on “So Far Away” took on the character of the installed cartridge but never lost its grip, while the cartridges also tracked the guitars, keyboards, and vocals along the way. Likewise with the swell of sound as the song builds up to a crescendo during the start of “Money for Nothing,” with less stable ’arms (or ’arm/cartridge combos) this intro can turn into a somewhat distorted and incoherent mess.

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