With the Hovland cable in the system, the Graham took on a relaxed, warm, more physical feel—yet all of the detail, depth, dynamic authority, and three-dimensionality remained. I like the Graham "sound" out of the box, wired with his choice of interconnect; I like it even more with the Hovland cable inserted.
The Precision Interface Technology cable—even…
Description: Medium-mass, damped unipivot tonearm.
Dimensions: Effective length: 235mm. Effective mass: 11 grams.
Serial number of unit reviewed: N/A.
Price: $3000 (not including tonearm cable). Constrained-layer damped armboards for: Linn LP12, $100; VPI Aries, $150; VPI TNT, $250. Approximate number of dealers: 75.
Manufacturer: Graham Engineering, Inc., 6 Kimball Ct., Woburn, MA 01801. Tel: (617) 932-8777. Fax: (627) 932- 8782. Distributed by Musical Surroundings, Inc., 5856 College Ave., Suite 146, Oakland, CA 94618. Tel: (510) 420-0379. Fax: (…
LP Source: VPI TNT Mk.3 turntable; Transfiguration Temper, Lyra Parnassus DC, AudioQuest Fe5, Grado Reference, Goldring Excel phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Audible Illusions Modulus 3A, Ayre K-3.
Power Amplifiers: VTL MB 450, Adcom 5802, Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve.
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Aerial 8, Sonus Faber Grand Piano; Audio Physic Terra subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Cardas Golden Heart, Yamamura Quantum, Electra-Glide AC cord.
Accessories: VibraPlane, Symposium Acoustics, and Bright Star Audio Little Rock…
When I reviewed the SME 10 turntable in April 2000, I was frustrated that I couldn't audition the Graham 2.0 tonearm on it. That would have allowed me to compare the SME with my reference Simon Yorke S-9 turntable, keeping the arm as a constant. It also would have provided an opportunity to compare the Graham with the SME IV.Vi arm, which Sumiko supplied me as an upgrade to the Model 10 arm.
Bob Graham now has a 2.0 adapter plate for the Model 10 'table. (He also makes armboards and adapter plates for the VPI, Linn,…
Bob Graham recently announced the 2.2 upgrade of his 2.0 tonearm. The 2.2 features a new bearing system, small changes to the armwand support block, and a new one-piece mounting base. The physical changes are subtle, but the improvement in sound was a significant step up overall, especially in terms of midbass/midrange fullness and high-frequency smoothness.
Owners of 2.0s need not fret: a $300 kit will give you more than 90% of the upgrade. The kit consists mostly of a new, more substantial…
As reported in April in this column, upgrading to Graham Engineering's new 2.2 bearing cap brings a major improvement to the overall sound of their 2.0 tonearm, but especially in the low frequencies. Bob Graham wanted me to compare an all-new 2.2 with an upgraded 2.0, and once he'd caught up with production, he sent me one. There's been a change to the base plate, from two- to one-piece construction. The internal armwand wiring has also been changed.
Comparing the 2.2 and the upgraded 2.0 was easy: I…
Editor: When I first designed the new bearing cap for the 2.0 tonearm, the improvements were so positive in our testing that I knew it warranted a new model number. I chose the designation "2.2," and at the time thought that would be it. But as we got into the next production run, I took another look at the bearing cap and decided I could expand on the results by building on the principles that the upgrade kit had already demonstrated; ie, the pivoting assembly area. And so, I made slight changes to the design and materials of the coupling block that joins the main…
Talking about Big Sugar's 500 Pounds, Richard Lehnert and I kept asking ourselves, "Why do we like this disc so much?" After all, this Canadian band basically serves up the same "blooze rock" that late '60s bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, and the like introduced over 30 years ago. Been there…
Nah, it didn't make me one with everything; it made me one that connects to everything. Well, almost. It packed a ton of function into a CD player—with a heavy emphasis on the fun. And it did it for $1350.
The 99 CDP-2 is a CD player. It's a digital switch box. It's an upsampling D/A processor that is specified as being able to handle 24-bit/96kHz PCM signals. It also has variable output. And its mama dresses it pretty—you get…
Feeding the X-RayV3's transport through the Quad's DAC, I found it difficult to distinguish any difference between that source and the CDP-2's own transport. This shouldn't really surprise anyone, I reckon. I determined I'd compare the stock X-RayV3 to the 99 CDP-2 through the Nu-Vista.
Do ya do ya do ya…