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Tonearms — Graham Engineering Phantom 3 9"
Description, images, technical data and specifications
Graham Engineering Phantom 3 9"
Image source — © Graham Engineering
The Phantom III 9-inch is a unipivot tonearm with a magnetic stabiliser from Graham Engineering, built by founder and designer Bob Graham, who has been refining tonearm designs since the mid-1980s. This model shares the same core specification as the well-regarded Phantom II but incorporates an updated armwand, new internal wiring and an improved bearing housing, surpassing even the highly rated Phantom II in every area of performance according to the manufacturer.
Key specs that matter
The unipivot design uses Graham's patented Magneglide magnetic-stabilisation bearing interface, a technology first introduced on the original Phantom B-44 around 2005 and refined continuously through the Phantom II, Phantom II Supreme and now Phantom III generations. A new titanium armwand replaces the previous material, paired with a new pivot housing assembly comprising a constrained-layer combination of brass and tungsten for greater energy control, damping and improved bearing performance over earlier Phantom models. This dual-damped system forces the arm to pivot in the correct vertical plane of the stylus tip with no rotation as the arm is raised - a genuine geometric advantage, since no regular unipivot design achieves this, and even some fixed-bearing arms get it wrong - if the vertical motion sits in the plane of the armtube itself rather than the correct plane of the stylus face angle, cartridge tends to tip to its side when tracking over warps, causing noticeable channel imbalance and reduced tracking accuracy. Full adjustability covers tracking force, azimuth, overhang, zenith angle and VTA/SRA, all with stability and repeatability for genuine ease of daily use. The arm is available in 9-inch, 10-inch or 12-inch lengths, with a standard SME fixed-mount base as one of two available mounting options, a custom Graham base being the other. Pricing for the 9-inch version is $7,000, with an extra 9-inch armwand available separately for $1,000.
Sound and use context
Expect connected cartridges to show their individual characters more clearly, with recorded music more likely to sound its best - The Absolute Sound specifically found the Phantom III flawless in daily operation and noted that a properly implemented tonearm's real test is precisely this - letting mounted transducers perform optimally at or near their own potential, which is exactly what reviewers found this arm accomplishes.
Pairing
The SME fixed-mount base option lets this arm drop directly into any turntable already fitted for SME-standard tonearm mounting, and the full range of on-arm adjustments accommodates virtually any cartridge geometry a listener might choose to fit.
Alternatives
Graham Engineering's Phantom Elite sits above the Phantom III as the current top arm in the lineup, worth the further investment if this Phantom III's already exceptional performance still leaves ambitions for Graham's absolute best current tonearm design.
Key specs that matter
The unipivot design uses Graham's patented Magneglide magnetic-stabilisation bearing interface, a technology first introduced on the original Phantom B-44 around 2005 and refined continuously through the Phantom II, Phantom II Supreme and now Phantom III generations. A new titanium armwand replaces the previous material, paired with a new pivot housing assembly comprising a constrained-layer combination of brass and tungsten for greater energy control, damping and improved bearing performance over earlier Phantom models. This dual-damped system forces the arm to pivot in the correct vertical plane of the stylus tip with no rotation as the arm is raised - a genuine geometric advantage, since no regular unipivot design achieves this, and even some fixed-bearing arms get it wrong - if the vertical motion sits in the plane of the armtube itself rather than the correct plane of the stylus face angle, cartridge tends to tip to its side when tracking over warps, causing noticeable channel imbalance and reduced tracking accuracy. Full adjustability covers tracking force, azimuth, overhang, zenith angle and VTA/SRA, all with stability and repeatability for genuine ease of daily use. The arm is available in 9-inch, 10-inch or 12-inch lengths, with a standard SME fixed-mount base as one of two available mounting options, a custom Graham base being the other. Pricing for the 9-inch version is $7,000, with an extra 9-inch armwand available separately for $1,000.
Sound and use context
Expect connected cartridges to show their individual characters more clearly, with recorded music more likely to sound its best - The Absolute Sound specifically found the Phantom III flawless in daily operation and noted that a properly implemented tonearm's real test is precisely this - letting mounted transducers perform optimally at or near their own potential, which is exactly what reviewers found this arm accomplishes.
Pairing
The SME fixed-mount base option lets this arm drop directly into any turntable already fitted for SME-standard tonearm mounting, and the full range of on-arm adjustments accommodates virtually any cartridge geometry a listener might choose to fit.
Alternatives
Graham Engineering's Phantom Elite sits above the Phantom III as the current top arm in the lineup, worth the further investment if this Phantom III's already exceptional performance still leaves ambitions for Graham's absolute best current tonearm design.
Specifications
Model name
Phantom 3 9"
Type
Unipivot
Effective mass (g)
N/A
Effective length (mm)
N/A
Cartridge Balance range (g)
N/A
Offset angle (deg)
N/A
Overhang (mm)
N/A
Weight (g)
N/A
Official link
