Upgrading my Basis 2500. Vacuum or no Vacuum?

Dear Fjn04: +++++ " in the past I have heard it's not as lively of a sound with
vacuum " +++++

Other than the advantages that others already posted about is that with the vacuum the distortion is a lot lower: what the people think like a more " alive " sound it is only a higher distortion with the vacuum that " false alive " sound disappear and the real sound comes natural/neutral.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I have the Debut with the vacuum "clamp." A friend has the 2800 without the vacuum. With respect to the difference between the tables, the 2800 is a much lighter table with a "lightly sprung" suspension. It is quite sensitive to footfall and bounces quite readily. The much heavier Debut is less bouncy, in much the same way that heavier cars are more immune to disturbances.

The vacuum clamp acts very much in the way Raul describes. At first, one may think the sound is too damped and lacking in life, but, after adjusting to the sound, one realizes how much purer the sound is with the vacuum, and what seemed like a little more "zing" to musical transients without the vacuum is really more like noise.

Care must be taken in the location of the pump. I think it is noisier than some others have described. I have not made a direct comparison, but, my impression is that it is noisier than the SOTA pump.

Another thing to consider is that some people have raised concern over the possibility of damage to records from the vacuum -- either from the vacuum causing gas to "bubble up" from the vinyl or from dirt being ground into the record from the high downforce. The recommendation is to use as little pressure as is necessary (adjustable) to hold the record down. I found that a record can be effectively clamped with a force that barely registers on the pressure guage, but at such low pressure, some records with edge warps become hard to clamp. With these records I have to either increase the vacuum, or I have to "assist" the pump by pressing down on the edge of the record until the rubber lip seals the record and allows for effective clamping.

Hello Fjn04
I have the Debut with vacume & Graham 2.2 arm. I use 2 wands 1 for mono 1 for stereo. I find the sound with the vacume on has a much blacker back ground and better definition. What is great is about having the vacume is if you find you like some records better without it just shut it off as I do when I play acetates. The best thing about the vacume is when a record is warped it takes care of it, better than those inner outer ring they now sell. I myself am finding more and more of the records coming out, 180 or 200 gram especially the 1 sided 45's have slight warps or a cup effect to them. This could damage the cartrige, but with the Debut vacume this is never an issue. I have my vacume set at 1.25 and that handles most records regardless of the record thickness. You can set the vacume too high and that can imbed dust from your tt to the record so you should start off as low a setting as possible. You should also brush off the platter with a natural brissel brush. A womans blush makeup brush is best and easy to get from a beauty supply house. Make sure the platter is clean no matter whose TT you are using before you place a record on it. Go with the vacume is my opinion. I also have my pump in another room.

I'm going to join the advocates for vacuum here. I have the 2800 with vacuum (in another room!). Working flawlessly for years. I'm pleased with the sound I'm getting.

However, I do note that L. Walker, whose products consistantly impress me, is emphatically not a fan of vacuum hold down.