Stepping Up From A Graham 2.2 On A Basis Audio Debut Deck

@solypsa the P2S on the 2.2 is 218mm, 9" effective length (pivot to stylus).

A constraint is that the arm assembly can protrude from the underside of the armboard a max of 1 1/4" before it hits the suspended plinth or sub-chasis. The dia of the hole in the armboard is 1 7/8".

I believe I'm going to need to have a disc/plate made that sits over the large diameter hole in the armboard. If I can find an arm that's secured only by a locking nut and doesn't require smaller drilled holes offset from the main hole, then I'm good as long is it doesn't exceed 3.25" from the top side of the disc/plate. And the outside diameter of the locking nut mustn't exceed 1 7/8".

As @lewm ​​​​​@jwei @wrm57 have suggested, a Phantom might be a good choice. But I'm not sure that I can take for granted the idea that it will be a drop-in replacement for the 2.2 

My next step is to find a detailed drawing for the Phantom!

@rauliruegas I agree on arm/cart compatibility. I don't plan to use the cartridges I have on hand for the long-term. My thought is to decide on the arm and then buy a good matching cartridge. 

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.

@thekong 

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.

Just closing the loop here with some feedback on the Phantom B44. It was a very worthwhile investment and a good improvement over the 2.2. I hear more air and detail and more low end extension and solidity. The soundstage is deeper and wider, though most notably the depth has improved significantly with improved layering. So I’m very pleased with it.

 The Walker motor controller arrived a day after the tonearm and I don’t have much time with it, but it does function perfectly with my older Basis Debut Gold Standard vacuum. My first impression is that it adds more flesh and body to instruments and vocalists and perhaps provides a little more detail from lower notes. But the difference is more subtle than with the tonearm and I still have to spend more time with it before fully understanding what it does.

Thanks for people’s input.