VPI Classic 3 vs Basis 2200

You should e-mail A. J. Conti and ask him about cartridge matching. Include the specs for the cartridge you are considering. He will respond promptly and let you know if it is a good match

Hi Moryoga: Congrats on your turntable acquisition. Enjoy!

Hi Jmcgrogan2: Some clarification about my mention above regarding advice received from A.J. This referred to the Vector tonearm, Basis interconnects/speaker cables/power cords, & a turntable upgrade. Based on those conversations I went ahead and purchased a Vector. I couldn't be happier with that move. And it was not like the 2 Airtangent tonearms I owned prior to that acquisition were shabby. I do miss the way nifty electronic end-of-record lift one of the AT's had but that's it. The Basis cables I acquired were a revelation enabling the system I had at the time to finally strut their stuff. Whereas prior to their use I had thought my amp was impeding the sound.

I never felt A.J. was selling something, just the reverse. When I mentioned interest in a pricy upgrade (moving from a Basis Ovation to a Debut) he subtly steered me away from that indicating the Ovation had about 95% of the Debut's sonics. Nevertheless, as I wanted to acquire my last ever turntable (ha!) that extra 5% seemed important. I went ahead and got the Debut. Was quite surprised & pleased the sonic improvements were more significant than he mentioned.

Tubes108, don't get me wrong, A.J. is a great guy, and I enjoyed my conversations with him, and I do love the Basis gear that he makes. It's rare to get a manufacturer as willing to spend as much time with you on the phone these days as A.J. All that being said, somehow whenever I called A.J. and we had a 30-60 minute chat, I always wound up buying something, maybe as small as one of his new belts to a Calibrator base, to once when I called to pick his brains about cartridges, he wound up selling me a cartridge. LOL!!

Yes, he also did try to talk me into buying one of his Synchro-Wave Power Supply units, but I didn't due to the cost. I'm sure that it is a great unit, but I was pretty happy with the Walker Audio Motor Controller that I was currently using, and I couldn't imagine that it could have gotten much better. I'm sure that I could have been wrong, but my funds are not unlimited. I have to draw the line somewhere. I still enjoyed all my conversations with A.J., and I have no regrets. However, I can honestly say that he never talked me out of a purchase.