Peter,
I went from a full boat Linn front end, except for a Benz Ruby 2 cartridge, to a Basis 2500/Graham 2.2. I continued to use the Benz with my new set up. I made the switch because the local Linn dealer was going under and I was losing my tech, not because of sound. I wanted a system that I could set up and adjust myself, so service wouldn't be an issue.
My new unit turned out to be an upgrade. It floats a bigger and more percise image. It has tighter bass. It gives up nothing in musicality. I suspect much of the improvement is because of the arm, the Graham can be adjusted with more percison than the Ekos.
You can't go wrong with a Basis. You might explore the Robin arm. A cartridge is had to say, it depends on how much output you need and you musical priorities.
I went from a full boat Linn front end, except for a Benz Ruby 2 cartridge, to a Basis 2500/Graham 2.2. I continued to use the Benz with my new set up. I made the switch because the local Linn dealer was going under and I was losing my tech, not because of sound. I wanted a system that I could set up and adjust myself, so service wouldn't be an issue.
My new unit turned out to be an upgrade. It floats a bigger and more percise image. It has tighter bass. It gives up nothing in musicality. I suspect much of the improvement is because of the arm, the Graham can be adjusted with more percison than the Ekos.
You can't go wrong with a Basis. You might explore the Robin arm. A cartridge is had to say, it depends on how much output you need and you musical priorities.