Well I took people’s advice and picked up a Phantom B44 along with a Walker motor controller. This possibly won’t be as big a step up as I was hoping for but it sure makes things simple on the installation side of things.
Thanks for the input.
Stepping Up From A Graham 2.2 On A Basis Audio Debut Deck
Hello,
I’ve a Basis Audio Debut Gold Standard with the acrylic armboard, and a Graham 2.2 installed.
I’d like to try a new arm in the $5K price range but I need something that’s drop-in compatible with the Graham, as I can’t/won’t drill any holes in the armboard.
I thought there’d be a database of compatible arms, perhaps on Vinyl Engine, but I couldn’t find anything. I’d like to use an Origin Live, but I haven’t heard back from Mark and David yet as I think they’re busy at the UK show. Looking at one of their manuals it doesn’t look like it’s going to be feasible without some kind of bracket.
I’m not married to the OL idea, I just want a step up from the 2.2 without a lot of hassle, and I’ve used their Illustrious arm on a previous deck and liked it a lot.
Has anyone gone down this path? What arm did you use? Was it a worthwhile improvement? Was it easy to install and set up?
(I do have the Dr. Feickert jig).
Thanks in advance for any tips.
Rooze
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If you have never had the benefit of a motor controller before, you will be very pleased with the Walker, whether or not the Phantom is a revelation, though I suspect that it too will make you happy. I would have thought that Basis provides a motor controller with their better models, in which case maybe the Walker will be a step sideways rather than forward. Be sure the Walker is compatible with the Debut Gold Standard. |
To follow up on @lewm ‘s comment on the compatibility between the Walker controller and the Debut Gold Standard. If I remember correctly, the Debut Gold Standard utilized a DC motor (Basis switched to AC motor, and offered their own Synchro dual phase AC controller, for their more recent models), and the Walker is an AC motor controller. If this is true, then the two is probably not compatible, at least you won’t be able to use the speed control function of the Walker! |
I was a little concerned about this and wrote to Basis for clarification but never heard back. The deck basically plugs into the wall, there’s no outboard power supply, so I figured the walker would at least give me clean and regulated ac power in place of that coming from the wall. I suppose I should dismantle the thing to access the motor and see if there’s a dc supply built into the deck. I wasn’t really fussed about switching speeds as it takes only a few seconds to flip the belt and I don’t do it very often.
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The Walker is definitely designed to supply AC TT motors. However, if you already own it, and if the Basis motor is DC, I think you still can benefit from it if you just set it to put out the full 120VAC. It normally controls speed by reducing AC voltage going to an AC motor, but it offers the additional advantages of regenerating AC using the wall socket. This makes the AC driving the motor cleaner, and it also isolates the TT motor from the rest of your audio gear, so EMI does not go back to your phono stage, for example. By all means, do check with Basis. |
- 19 posts total