Speed Control for Basis 2800 Signature

ps. Just wanted to clarify what I perceive as "better" sound using the Phoenix setup.

My Basis 2800 is a fantastic table but with the Phoenix I'm hearing more bass that is both louder and less muddy, more of a holographic soundstage, the overall sound somehow both more refined and more laid with jazz and vocals, tighter and punchier with rock, I do my classical listening via dac and hi res downloads. These are obviously purely subjective impressions but it's what I'm noticing.

Hi All,

Thanks for your insights and suggestions.

I'll start by reiterating that if I had the money to burn I probably would have purchased a Syncrowave. Since that's not the case at the moment I went ahead and purchased the Phoenix Eagle PSU and Roadrunner Tachometer. The Eagle is a higher output power source and the one appropriate for the 2000 series Basis motors. I spoke with Basis and confirmed that the motors have no speed control chip, so they are compatible with this setup.

I purchased from HiFi Heaven. Shipping was fast and free, setup quick and pretty easy. For some reason the Eagle was not working for me out of the box. After 45 minutes on with Hifi Heaven, btw very friendly, helpful a pleasure to work with, and about a half hour on the phone with Bill from Phoenix we could not get it running. Bill arranged for a swap, shipping express mail at his own expense. Apparently the unit he received back from me worked fine once he got it on the bench at Phoenix so I don't know what was happening with my attempts.

On the Roadrunner I think there's room for refinement with the sensor and magnet but these are very minor issues of aesthetics and convenience.

Second unit arrived and worked perfectly. I know speed control isn't the only factor in quality sound, and as pointed out the smoothness of the motor is a big part, according to Basis, a much bigger part, but that being factored in:

A) It's sounds A LOT better with the speed locked in with the Eagle and Roadrunner, and locked in it is, the KAB strobe rock solid with no perceivable drift and for me as a bit of a TT and tech geek it's really a thing of beuaty :).
The brilliance of this setup is that RPM precision is clocked and adjusted to within .005 about once a second so all those speed variables that used to creep up between stylus drag, beginning of the lp vs end of lp etc are totally no longer issues.

B) Looking at Phoenix's demo video of the type of sine wave the Eagle PSU puts out, it seems very solid and consistent, and while perhaps not a Syncrowave it seems to produce a very smooth and even rotation of the motor. I'm no electronic engineer and don't have any testing equipment, but the motor, as quiet as it was, is audibly quieter and there's a bit less vibration to the touch.

Considering the price, definite sound improvement and positive experience working with Phoenix, so far I'm extremely satisfied. I've only had the setup running for a little over a week so another follow up review in the next 6 to 8 weeks seems like it would be appropriate but so far a totally solid 8.5/10.

I have used a synchrowave for about five years now. I very rarely bother to check for speed accuracy; when I do check, the speed is pretty close to spot on. I am less concerned over long-term speed accuracy as I am with minimizing vibration/noise from the motor which is what the synchowave provides by delivering very pure, dual phase power to the motor. I like the fact that I can change speeds using a toggle switch instead of moving the belt and that such speed change would not compromise sound quality the way single phase speed controllers changing the frequency of the AC current to the amp would adversely affect motor performance.

My only operational problem with the synchrowave is that it can be turned on by a momentary power disruption (something quite frequent in my neighborhood). This means I have to leave the motor switch in the off position to prevent the unintended switching on from causing my table to spin while I am not using it.

Please post your comments or findings when you have setup the Phoenix Eng.system. I doubt if you will be disappointed. I cannot live without them as they provide accurate speed consistently which makes them far better than a Walker or VPI controller.

I also had speed problems with my Basis TT and the only way to adjust speed was to use the Phoenix speed controllers.

Thanks.

I've done a lot of surfing around and have come across the Phoenix Eng. Roadrunner tachometer and Eagle PSU (power supply unit). The PSU supplies ample energy to drive the motor and syncs with the tach via cable to read and adjust platter speed via voltage output once a second, thereby keeping speed precise in real time, as opposed to setting a speed on a controller and hoping assuming that it's maintained. Will arrive next week and I'll see if it lives up to the hype.

With my Basis 2500

I use a Walker Precision Speed Controller with excellent results. I used a VIP controller previously, the Walker was a big improvement. Walkers can be found for around $900 used.

Hi Dickson. I'll definitely reach out to Bill and see what he thinks and thanks Chayro as well, I've put in a call to AJ but haven't heard back from him yet.

As far as rewiring the motor, what's a little shock and electrocution when the end result is a perfectly locked in rpm and the music is sounding good :)

The speed should not be way off without an outboard controller. Contact Basis and they will assist you. The company is very serious about customer service. Good luck.
Just as a PS, I know that people have used the Walker controller successfully with Basis, but I still think you shouldn't be way off without one.

Hi,

The Synchrowave runs both phases of the motor resulting in less vibration of the synchronous motor. It also allows you to adjust the speed however I do not know if it can correct speed while the turntable is running.

One method of correcting speed is the superbly designed items by Bill Carlin of Phoenix Technologies. http://www.phoenix-engr.com/#!/page_products
If you purchased the Falcon and the Roadrunner you would get for a modest sum of money excellent speed control and would solve the speed problem. Please ask Bill if what I have suggested works for you. Just mention that Dickson from Hong Kong suggested you get in touch. He is a fabulous guy to deal with and his designs are truly excellent.

Unfortunately he never released a dual phase design commercially. I did manage to purchase a one off dual phase prototype from him which together with the Roadrunner (which reads out the speed) does everything the Basis Synchrowave is designed to do but with the addition of correcting speed control once every revolution. IMHO I think Bill's dual phase design is unbeatable however it is not a product for commercial release as you would need to rewire your motor. If you don't know what you're doing this can lead to electrical shock and possible electrocution.

Nonetheless using just a Falcon and Roadrunner will get you almost spot on for speed with the Basis motor albeit minus the decreased vibration associated with controlling both phases of the motor. You cannot go wrong with purchasing these items from Bill.

Hope this helps.