1. Please describe your reference playback system for our 6moons readership. Feel free to comment on listening preferences and your favorite types of music.


Our turntables vary of course in the Reference System, usually a Debut Vac or 2800 always, without question, with Synchro-Wave and Micro-Thin belt, Cable Isolation System and Vector 4 VTA.

Amps: Pass XA 30.5.
Phono: Pass X-Ono.
Pre: Pass X1.
Speakers: Verity Lohengrin II.
Cables: Full Basis Cable System.

We have a significant number of other electronics at our disposal but these Pass pieces have pried me away from tubes for the first time in my life, with a sound that I just do not hear even with a speaker as transparent as the Lohengrins.


It is also very important to me that the reference system electronics be the same, exactly the same, day in and day out, month in and month out, so that when testing a new cartridge for instance, I can rely on my sonic memory of other prior cartridges without wondering about aging of tubes or a change in tubes and therefore the character of sound. As far as listening preferences, if you mean "bias" of a certain type of sound, I'm looking for that effortless magic that you hear in Symphony Hall, or even in the street when a solo violin is playing. The music envelops you without assaulting you. After a recent show in Europe I stopped in Venice for a break and ran into two solo violinists, on two different days, each of whom were quite talented in playing various solos from classical violin works. I listened to each at length and when finally walking away, I could not help reflect upon the same impression that I'm left with after hearing live classical music: so many systems assault my ears, aggressively, yet even when in the near field of a violin, which has a complex overtone structure with significant high frequency energy, my ears did not "shut down". So that's one of my greatest necessities in a system: It can't hurt my ears! At night I attended a concert with four instruments and sat very close. The volume became quite loud at times as I was near field yet, again, I just wanted to bask in the glorious sound. That's what I want my system to sound like.


As far as music, it runs the gamut. Hard rock is about the only thing I don't listen to much. Classical plays at work and home the most, followed by jazz vocals and some of everything really. Today I started the day with Bach's Cello Suites, first by Rostropovich, then Yo Yo Ma's second recording of the suites, then his first recording. I also played Leonard Cohen Live, Dark Side of the Moon and followed that with Beatles Live. Billy Holiday came next, with a Dvorak Cello Concerto next. You can see that my listening bounces all over, which is why, even if I'm not listening for work and evaluation, I need an uncolored system... it has to play every type of music.


I'm just re-reading your question and if I had to list one favorite type of music, it would have to be classical.


2. Now that several of your products are receiving accolades from American and International reviewers how does this impact on your sense of where Basis Audio is in the current realm of high-end audio?


I love performing comparisons of equipment, whether they are motorcycles, high-performance cars, the best espresso machines or audio equipment. So I have had nearly every major "contender" through here. Therefore, I have always known where Basis stands among the finest record players.


However, what I find very gratifying are the specific attributes mentioned in the reviews of our products over the last two years. To read the exact traits that we note here every day, written by folks that I greatly respect, is especially satisfying. I have been chasing the sound of master tapes for 22 years. At various points in time I have observed cycles in market taste where many listeners were looking for something different than that effortless, enveloping, uncolored master-tape sound. It seems that an ultra-analytical, edgy, in-your-face type of sound often impresses less sophisticated listeners, who may be looking to impress their friends with "detail" as well as themselves I suppose. I have ignored all of the trends, knowing that the totally "unmechanical" tape sound came closest to the true musical event than any other medium I had heard. I kept chasing this sound in a very deliberate way, reducing resonances, reducing feedback and improving the drive system. With our Vector tonearm I knew we made great strides toward this sound. The Cable Isolation System, Synchro-Wave Power Supply and Micro-Thin belt all combined to push performance over an unmistakable "turning point" - a point where I feel record playback had not gone. Suddenly, reviewers and owners who had experience with master recordings were saying that the performance reminded them of the sound of original recordings. I never thought it possible that any turntable could achieve that total lack of "mechanics" in the sound and now critics are saying just that - which is what we also hear. So, in summary, the answer to your question really is that the performance level we are currently at has resulted in my greatest level of satisfaction, overall, since I started Basis. Having others agree is icing on the cake and it is just a wonderful feeling that I wish everyone could experience once in their lives.


3. What can vinyl lovers expect to see from Basis Audio in the near future?


This is a hard one to predict. It really depends on what problem presents itself to me during my investigations. I love challenges. I simply cannot walk away from a problem or mystery in physics. I'm like that bicycling...the steeper the hill, the more aggressive I become. I just love attacking something that I don't know I can conquer. I enjoy the challenge, the strain. So on any day I'm liable to become obsessed by something I can't explain and will have to learn, research, theorize, experiment, and then ultimately solve the problem. This is how our cable system came about. I was looking for the ultimate cable for our Vector tonearm and I was not satisfied with any of the technical explanations given for the difference in sound of various cables. I turned to physics books and electromagnetic theory texts, going so far as to spend many hours in university bookstores and libraries. I found my answers, found a way to solve the basic problems in a practical manner, and produced our tonearm cable. This led to our complete cable system, which is a whole other subject.


One thing you can be sure of about future projects and products, they won't be abrupt changes in direction from what we have done. "Designing on a whim", as I like to call it, can result in unrelated products that move in different directions. Our designs are deliberate. I make sure we know why things work the way they do, and a logical progression is the result.