Arm & cartridge combo for Basis Debut ?

Samhar - Thanks for the info. At that price, I'll probably stick with a Graham.

Syntax - My 1.5 has the tungsten sideweights, ceramic armtube & IC-50 tomearm cable, so it may lie somewhere between a stock 1.5 and a 2.2. Your description of the sonics of the 2 series makes it very appealing however. Sounds like I need to explore the possibility of moving up. Any idea would I should expect to pay for a used 2.2 on Agon? There aren't any currently listed.

As for Triplanar. . .which version? Sounds like an expensive proposition including new armboard. They are great arms though.

I'm thinking about a different phonostage as you suggest. I'm currently using the internal phono of my Rowland Concerto integrated. It sounds pretty good, but I'm guessing a Rhea or Allnic would be far superior. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Mine was apparently done at the factory as it has both 1.5 and 2.2 decals.

I own a Basis Debut with the vacuum feature and a Vector arm. I like the combination a lot. A friend has a Basis 2500 with two arms mounted on it, a Phantom and the Vector arm. He MUCH preferred the Vector arm for both a Lyra Titan and a Transfiguration Orpheus cartridge. I did not hear the comparison myself, and thought that the Phantom playing the Titan sounded pretty good.

Someone mentioned that A.J. Conti preferred the older Graham arms to the Phantom. That is an interesting comment because I know another person in the industry that also MUCH preferred the older Graham arms (thinks the Phantom sounds cold and lifeless). I guess that there is no such thing as an absolute improvement -- a change is bound to be negative for some peoples' taste.

Your current equipment is very good. That makes it hard to suggest any obvious improvements -- whether something improves the sound will be more a matter of taste/system synergy -- i.e., nothing is unequivocally better.

As a Basis owner, I would say the most obvious first step is to get a new belt. The current model of belt is machined to much tighter tolerances and sounds great. Some would argue that the belt replacement has more positive impact on the performance of Basis tables than the very expensive speed controller (I can't say so myself since I bought both at the same time).

I use to own a Graham 1.5t (the "t" denotes the use of tungsten side weights). I never went the route of upgrading the arm. I believe that the upgrades involve replacement of the armtube with the ceramic armtubes from the 2.2 model. It might be something to look into if you can find the armtubes at used prices.

Certainly a good phonostage is a possible upgrade suggestion. But, you need to factor in the substantial cost of another high quality interconnect. Hence, a worthwhile improvement may be quite expensive.

I didn't follow the pricing for 2.2. Versions, but I think, they are in the 1.5k$ area. I switched from 2.2 to Triplanar VII and from that back to Graham (Phantom).
Your Zyx has a big advantage, it is not critical/sensitive to Arms. When you like it from the sound, keep it. I think, the Airys are really good.
Well, the Phonostages, I also used Rowland Phono some years ago, at that time they were very good, but I have no experience with Concerto Phono. I once had a Rhea here (I also had Callisto Sign., some wrote, the small one is about 80% from the bigger brother, but that is not true) and I don't think, that it is a good one. There is much better out there, Klyne 7 for example.
I never listened to Allnic, but from what I read, I think, it can be interesting. When you have a chance for a loan, try it.

Larryi - Well said! There certainly are no absolutes in audio, as we all hear differently and have different tastes and sensibilities.

From the feedback I've received, it seems my current arm is not so bad. If A.J. likes it better than the Phantom, I'm certainly ahead of the game.

A different phonostage might be worth trying. I know someone who sells both Allnic & Einstein. Perhaps he'll let me demo them at home.

Thanks to all for your valuable input.