Since even micrometre-level adjustments aren't necessarily practical, the app includes a slider to pre-select the size of the height adjustment steps: very convenient and well-designed. The app also allows you to start and stop the turntable's motor and operate the tonearm lift. What might initially sound like an unnecessary gimmick quickly becomes indispensable: even in my relatively small listening room, it's extremely pleasant to lower the arm only after settling comfortably into my chair. Returning briefly to the PIEZO VTA system: Aligning the tonearm parallel to the platter by eye is extremely difficult due to its hyperbolic shape. However, because it's manufactured in two parts, the GRAVITON® Ti tonearm has an almost invisible ridge in the middle, which allows it to be horizontally adjusted using a cross-lens laser. I didn't change this setting afterward, as the geometry is only correct in precisely this position. If, for example, you wanted to change the VTA for sonic reasons and raise the tonearm slightly at the rear, the effective length would also change, and consequently, the offset angle would have to be adjusted. This applies not only to the GRAVITON® Ti tonearm, but to any tonearm. Nevertheless, the remote-controlled height adjustment makes sense. The current app, which wasn't yet available during the Prime Meridian system's stay in my listening room, offers various presets that can be assigned to records of different weights or thicknesses, for instance. Settings for a second or third GRAVITON® Ti tonearm with a perfectly aligned cartridge are also conceivable.

As the ongoing development of the app demonstrates, Wilson Benesch is constantly optimizing the GMT® One and the Prime Meridian systems. Compared to earlier versions, the STAGE One system has also undergone improvements: Initially, a small, wing-shaped housing, mounted on a plexiglass plate attached to the rear of the turntable so that it sits directly above the tonearm's pivot point, contained a 1:10 step-up transformer. This prepared the cartridge's output voltage for the phono stage. This step-up transformer has now been omitted, but the "piano" tonearm remains – and for good reason: Its underside features a socket, the counterpart to the plug of the cables that exit the tonearm precisely at its pivot point. The highly flexible cables are therefore not bent or looped as with other tonearms but run straight upwards.

Furthermore, due to its length, the tonearm moves through a smaller angle when playing an LP than, for example, a nine-inch arm. Therefore, the cables exert virtually no force on the tonearm and consequently on the cantilever suspension. This allows the cantilever to more easily track even very slight groove excursions and read out more detailed information. It's no wonder, then, that Craig Milnes attributes an important role to the tonearm cable in terms of fine detail resolution. On the back of the "Piano" tonearm, you'll find RCA or XLR connectors, depending on customer preference. Continuous cabling from the connector above the arm to the phono stage is also possible. Wilson Benesch recently began offering the arm as the GRAVITON® Ti tonearm for use on turntables from other manufacturers, without the remote-controlled height adjustment, but naturally with a version of the STAGE One cable routing. I wouldn't rule out trying it out on my LaGrange turntable myself – as soon as a base for the Brinkmann turntable has been designed.