Basis Turntables: Worth it or Ripoff?

Most of Basis' models don't look quite as elegant as comparably priced models of some of their competitors.  Basis hardly puts any money into visual aesthetics.  Given that a lot of buyers DO place a lot of value in looks, I can see how Basis loses some "value" points in that department.  Basis excels in other ways.  The build quality is superb and all parts are precisely made to very tight tolerances.  You will not see any wobble at all in the rotation of their platters, for example, something that cannot be said of all tables (if you look really closely).  

Whether or not one will like the sound of their arm/table combinations is also a matter of taste.  Their tables are very much into damping vibration, both external vibration or vibration generated by the table itself or vibration from the stylus tracking a record.  Some systems (and their owner's taste) favor such highly damped tables, some prefer a more lively sound (to detractors, Basis tables sound "dark" or "dead").  

Hence, Basis tables are certainly not a "ripoff," but like any other table, they can be the wrong table for any particular individual.

Table builders that make damping vibration generated from the playing of the record itself (energy dissipating platter, clamping systems design to dissipate vibrations generated by the playing of the record, extremely rigid tonearms designed to transmit away energy fed into the tonearm from the cartridge being shaken by the tracking of the groove) do sound dramatically quieter.  Surface imperfections of the record that cause a sharp impulse do not resonate and prolong the even so they pass quickly and sound much less obtrusive.  That is particularly obvious with the Basis table/arm, particularly with vacuum hold-down. 

I've also heard this type of performance from the bigger ClearAudio table/arm combinations.