Basis 2500, 2800 or Debut - which would you use?

Interesting comments made above. I heard a 2500 that had both a Phanton and a Vector arm on it. I liked the sound of both arms, though the table's owner and another friend very much preferred the sound of the Vector arm when using either a Transfiguration Orpheus or Lyra Titan cartridge. The Phantom arm combined with either cartridge sounded a bit less lively, but, I did not think it was quite that big a deal. This particular table was quite sensitive to footfall problems on suspended wooden floors and needed some kind of additional isolation.

I have never tried any other arm than a Vector 3 on my Debut vacuum table. I like the combination a lot. The sound is very weighty and solid, while not sounding dead or "dark." But, it is more in the high mass, well damped camp than the lightly sprung suspension camp (e.g., Michelle) so the sound may reasonably be characterized as less lively and punchy than such tables.

The Phantom verses Vector raises a point I'd like to make. There are many variables in optimizing the performance of your arm/cartridge. While the Vector can certainly be set up for optimal performance, I went with the Phantom Supreme because, in my opinion, it is easier to set up. Since I have no local dealer, nor am I well versed in mounting a cartridge while the arm is still on the table, I felt I could get much closer to 100% of optimal with the Supreme as opposed to the Vector.

Very slight changes in azimuth and VTA can make more of a difference in sound than the quality of the arm. That is, when you're talking about arms at this level. The Graham system allows even an idiot like me to come close to 100%. Even if the Vector 4 outperforms the Supreme on an absolute basis, I'm not sure I'd have the skills to obtain it.

AJ Conti designed the Vector so that it could be set up by anyone with decent tt skills. You can buy setup DVDs from Basis in which AJ walks you through the tt and arm setups step by step. I'm not saying you would be able to do it as well as an expert, but it's not a big deal. Really.

Chayro, thats the whole point. With the Graham even a novice can mount and optimize the arm/cartridge as well as an expert.

The Graham is great for getting the basic setup reasonably right, but, I still think it pays to use another protractor to check the setup. The jig used for overhang alignment is a bit less than precise. For one thing, unless the height of the cartridge is exactly matched to the jig, you are only getting an approximately correct setting. I also think there is just a bit too much slop in the hinge of the jig itself to make me super confident in the accuracy of using the jig alone. That said, I have set up the Phantom using the jig and got alignment that agreed fully with a Feickert protractor.

The Basis mirror tool is pretty easy to use, and the arm is not that hard to set up well. I also got a great match to a Feickert protractor. The hardest thing to get right is the VTF because of how difficult it is to move the counterweight to make a fine adjustment (I should have lubricated the shaft first). In that respect, the Phantom IS easier.

Still, I don't think there is a big difference between the two in terms of ease of setup. Both are a breeze compared to something like a Shroeder arm.