Graham Engineering 2.2 Tonearm

 Graham 2.2 Precision Tonearm With IC-50 Connecting
Cable

The Graham 2.2 tonearm system
has been designed to be the finest available in its field, both in performance
and in user convenience and sold for over $3200 new. This example is in
pristine condition and was recently provided a comprehensive tune up that cost nearly $500 in anticipation of sale and has not been remounted since. It is
essentially brand-new factory fresh and ready to go. It also includes all
original equipment, inner and outer box, manual, silicone damping fluid as well
as the $650 silver core IC-50 1-meter DIN connecting cable engineered just for
the increased performance of the 2.2 by Bob Graham himself. This tonearm is
legendary in terms of its ease of installation, unparalleled performance and
engineering genius.

This convenience begins with
the installation itself; the detail of which is to give you all the information
you need to do the job properly. If your turntable has the proper arm board or
cutout already made, you should have everything mounted and ready to play in
approximately half an hour to an hour. The user-friendliness of the Graham 2.2
tonearm will allow the end user to install the tonearm and cartridge accurately
without having to depend on a dealer to perform this function.

The 2.2 series arm mount is more massive than
the 2.0 and will displace more of the damping fluid already in the well, so
Graham advises users to let the fluid settle after installation, then unscrew
the mount to check the fluid level, using the bearing support much like a car
engine's oil dipstick. The fluid level should be half to three-fourths of the
way up the square flange.

The Graham IC50, a DIN/RCA cable, which he
says better complements the 2.2's refined sound. The solid silver wire is
specially wound and terminated in a new DIN connector and low-mass RCA plugs
with a right-angled connector and anti-stress fitting.

The Graham's tracking ability and stability
are superb by any standard. The locking-collet system is a major improvement
over the old design, and the new mounting system ensures a rigid mechanical
ground to the turntable plinth, something the older arms could not claim.
However, drilling the arm board accurately is critical: if you don't, you can't
use Graham's ingenious, easy-to-use, and dead-accurate overhang-adjustment
system (which has been described too many times in print to repeat here). All
the necessary calculations are included and rather easily accomplished.

The interchangeable arm wands, using an
aerospace-sourced Bendix connector at the pivot housing, make swapping
cartridges a less-than-five-minute job—a major convenience factor for those who
use a variety of cartridges (playing 78s, mono LP or carts or
less-than-pristine LPs, etc.). Having the bearing in line over the mounting
platform ensures a mechanically stable platform. The arm wands themselves are
as well-damped and mechanically inert as you'll find in any tonearm.

In short, there is no finer tonearm to be
had for vinyl IMO. You can always pay more, but with Bob Graham’s masterwork
you are in rarefied air where the atmosphere is thin and the fall is long and
to spend more is really to begin to understand the law of diminishing return!