Thoughts on moving from a 1200G to Sota Saphire or above

I like the arm on the G. Sounds pretty good to me. I also have no problems with dynamics on this table. I love the ease of use and the flexibility the table offers. after having this table for a while, I cannot see myself ever going back to belt drive unless it was an extremely high end belt drive.  Its a very neutral sounding table.  all recordings sound different as they should.

Tough question comparing the arms! The SME has been considered close to world class for many years. The Technics arm is new and sold only with that table, I think. We know from the EPA series that Technics can build a great arm when they decide to.

The Eclipse upgrade would be an option on the Sota. I love having the digital readout tach. Strobes on Technics have a limited life too. PITA to replace the lamp, at least for me it was on SP10mk2.  Cheers,
Spencer

IMO, a dead strobe bulb on an SP10 mk2 is no great loss and would not affect function. Also, by saying I thought the SME V is superior to the stock G tonearm I certainly did not mean to denigrate the latter. I am sure it’s very good too.

IMO, a dead strobe bulb on an SP10 mk2 is no great loss and would not affect speed accuracy or servo function , I don’t think but could be wrong. (A question for JP.) Also, by saying I thought the SME V is superior to the stock G tonearm I certainly did not mean to denigrate the latter. I am sure it’s very good too.

Yes, I agree, the 1200G arm is no slouch. If I wanted to upgrade I’ve learned of some nice arms to upgrade through this thread. In a previous post on this thread I mentioned having a AQ Earth IC on demo and would move it from the table to my phono preamp. It’s not an Earth but a Water IC. I also realized I had an AQ Sydney coming out of the table and not a McKenzie. I have a McKenzie going from the phono to the preamp. Anyhow, I replaced the Sydney with the Water and noticed a difference with one album side. Before I say conclusively it was the Water that moved the needle, I’m going to relisten to a couple of albums I played recently to see if there is a difference. I’ll share my findings later.