Tonearm Options for Basis 2800

Thanks Jperry. Anyone have any experience with Basis Cables? It's hard not to wonder if the tables can be this good based on AJ's technical prowess that the cables he designed would be pretty special as well.

I own Basis power cords and I have heard Basis loudspeaker cables and interconnects. For my system, the interconnects were good, but not as good a match as other interconnects--they are extremely detailed and dynamic sounding, but, again, in my system, just a bit too hard sounding. The same can be said of their speaker cables.

In my friend's system, the Basis speaker cables were VERY surprising. The very lively and dynamic sound was a big plus. The subjective impression when using their speaker cable was that the system was substantially louder--at the same volume setting the speakers sounded louder. I have never heard this kind of pronounced difference in subjective loudness with cables before hearing the Basis cables (compared with XLO Limited cables). I cannot recall what electronics were being used in this system--the preamp was probably a Hovland HP200 and the amps were solid state, but, I cannot recall what they were; the speakers were Spendor S8 and Sonus Faber Anniversario.

Congratulations Jwm on the SA 9 tonearm! I thought about one for about a minute when I was considering the Vector 4 which I just bought and love. The Vector 4 is an engineering and sonic marvel.

I also just replace my belt - can't believe how worn out my other one was on my 2200 after 5 years! I think next for me might be a synchrowave as the consensus seems to be it makes a big difference.

Welcome to the Basis line Moryoga - you have a great table! I have 2 and might start a collection!

Thanks Larryi and Pops, glad to be on the team. Cables are a total mind and wallet bender. I was doing a little research and saw that The Work of Art was the TT for Best in Show at Newport last Year. It said all cables were AudioQuest WEL. Curious that they wouldn't have been Basis but I guess it really is totally dependent on room acoustics, gear, taste etc.

I don't know if the vacuum clamp is retrofittable to any table, but, it is the other great option on Basis tables. The vacuum holds the record very firmly to the platter which dampens/drains vibrational energy from the stylus tracking the groove and prevents that energy from feeding back into the cartridge. This improves the clarity of the sound. The most obvious difference that the clamp makes is with how much it supresses the effect of clicks and pops. Clicks and pops are very momentary events, but, with some tables/arms, the sonic effect is more obvious because of ringing (resonance) that is not quickly dissipated. Basis tables, particularly with the vacuum clamp, substantially minimize such ringing from clicks and pops.

Perhaps, the downside of such good resonance control is that Basis systems tend to sound "darker" and not as lively as tables that ring more. I can see why some listeners would prefer tables that sing a little more --this really is a matter of taste and system tuning. I heard a Linn table with the Naim ARO arm in a system that normally featured a Basis 2500/Vector 3 setup. The Linn/Naim system did sound livelier and more exciting in a system that needed a bit of perking up. But, I am not sure that, even in this system, I would like the extra liveliness in the long run. In some respect that liveliness was artificial and clangorous.

The point I am making is that choices still come down to matters of taste and system matching and that there is no absolute "best."