... vacuum clamp is retrofittable to any table...
Best is to ask the Manufacturer. I know he did that for the Ovation turntable and that one was never available with vacuum option..
... that Basis systems tend to sound "darker" and not as lively as tables that ring more.
The table itself is neutral from sonics. It can't be compared with the majority of other tables which have their sonic colorations (based on mediocre bearing, ringing platter, motor vibrations, platter resonances ....) Most Audiophiles compensate their units to "tune" a sound to their "preferences"....and we all know, the owner is always right. Discussions with such "groups" is wot, they never get it, even when you explain it 10 times....
The Linn/Naim system did sound livelier and more exciting...
The Linn is a midrange pusher and the Aro is weak in lower frequencies....in a way far away from a full range turntable...but when the difference is so obvious (I listened to such a combo a few times too and I will only do it again when someone wants to tape my crying before I fall in a coma) then I would seriously think about replacing the Vector Arm.
...and that there is no absolute "best."
That is wrong. There is better and best out there. "Taste" is the owner's excuse for not knowing anything to keep his investment alive. There are 30k tables out there which do not perform better than a 3k table and the owners love it. Each his own.
But in a good System you can hear the quality of Turntables at once. When you know the right records and what is in their grooves.