Nice justifications for your points...although how you set up an arm that has minimal set up calibrations and those that it does have are inaccurate to start with, is an interesting point!OK, let's start with this. I never indicated any such thinking and I'm pretty sure I have a reputation for making quite precise adjustments to the arms I set up. The real problem with your post is claiming that you are a believer in such when you own a WTA arm. Sure you don't have to worry about the tracking force dial not matching what is on a digital scale, but that is because there is no dial. But getting the tracking force right is a royal pain in the a$$ as every time you move the arm you have to let the silicone settle. Setting the height, alignment and anti-skating are all also rather difficult, again because the bearing is a pair of strings and a paddle or golf ball suspended in thick fluid. There is really very little precision in that arm and all adjustments have to be checked and redone multiple times to get it all right after things have settled. Also I hope you don't end up with a problem with the arm wiring as one of my customers recently did after doing a hack job of trying to install a cartridge. He made two headshell leads so short that my thought was to rewire the arm. A call to the distributor came back with the information that you couldn't fun new wiring down the tube and that replacement tubes for the older versions were not available! Options were to trash the unit and get a replacement or figure out another way to fix it. The customer didn't want to spend new arm money so I took a page out of the Rega handbook and soldered a set of normal thickness headshell leads to the thin wires that run through the tube (luckily there was enough left coming out the tube). Even that was a major hassle as the way they color coded the wires faded with age so you couldn't tell them apart. I had to use a meter to trace them to the output and then solder the right tage to the right wires. It wasn't only the arm that was a problem. He also couldn't get the platter to work properly. This was due to their unique and unusual bearing housing that needed to be fitted in just the right direction to work. Normally you wouldn't think that would be a problem because the manufacturer would take care of it. But on this table the bearing housing was free, a little too free, to rotate in its mounting! This had allowed it to rotate to where the bearing didn't work right at all and wobbled all over the place. I found out that the non-fixed mounting was also normal but it was usually a fairly snug fit. This was not, it was quite loose. Positioning it in the right direction and using a little glue took care of that problem. I explained my suggestions to the customer and he was quite happy with the idea of getting his WT table back up and running without a heavy expense. He was even more happy when he heard the results.
So it really is a little much to be preached at about the Ekos SE not being precise enough, apparently mainly because you are so stuck on the worthless adjustment of azimuth or because you just can't figure an Ekos out.
As to the comparison, and comparison with two variables is instantly invalid except to show what you hear as different by changing multiple things. There is no way to narrow it down to a specific part. Beyond that I would expect that there were more variables than the two you mention. Were both turntables on one rack? Then one or both were compromised. I'm sure the Basis prefers a different type of stand than what is optimum for the LP12. Were they setup by the same person? If not you will have inconsistencies in setup. You might even have inconsistencies if it was setup by the same person. So the comparison is really no comparison.
But I find it amusing you used the Basis as an example. I have worked on a Basis, it was a Debut MkV with vacuum hold down and their top arm at the time. This was quite some time ago but it was supposed to be a step above the 2000 series. I was not very impressed with the table nor the arm. It wasn't a very musical combination. The customer wasn't all that happy with it either as he had traded it in. For what, you ask? Why a Klimax LP12 with a horrid Ekos on it, actually an Ekos 2. He was quite happy with the improvement.
Lastly, when you design and build something right in the first place it doesn't need frequent change. Recent age is not a measure of quality and length of time on the market unchanged is not a bad sign either. This is not a banana, a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, there is no such thing as past dated. Damn, when are they going to get around to redesigning those outdated Stradivari violins?
Let's just put it this way, you believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I want to, based on what my ears tell me.
BTW, i am in no way suggesting that the arm I currently use, which is a version of the WTA but highly modded, is in any way a superior made product and competes with the arms in the highest echelon. It is more than competitive on the Linn platform, BUT it is like the old war horse, had its day!
The AB with the Linn vs. the Basis was done correctly, the only real difference between the two was the arm and the basic table ( yes the Linn was optimized and so was the Basis...unless you are going to say that the set up guy was no good...). Could the Basis platform be superior sounding to the Linn Klimax platform, and the Ekos SE was the star of the show...you tell me??
You worked on a Debut MkV with what arm...an original Basis Vector? This arm was known to have issues, which is why it was quickly upgraded.
BTW, when was the last time you listened to one of the Basis turntables, and I mean one of their current line up, not from decades ago?? Let me tell you, If it was in budget, the Basis 2500 Signature and up, with one of their Superarm 9 arms, would be replacing my Linn in a heart beat! I know a fellow a'phlle who replaced his Linn Klimax with Radikal 2 with a Basis Inspiration with Superarm 9...trust me you don't want to ever listen to that incredible combo...specially as a loyal Linn dealer!!!
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