SOTA NOVA, HR-X VPI, Technics 1200G recommendations?

There is no stress at all for DD motor, but if you don’t want to scratch your record sirface on a metal mats (flipping it when the platter is on) you have to press stop button first. If your mat is felt mat (slipmat) you don’t have to worry about it, because felt mat can’t damage your vinyl even if you will rotate the record to opposite direction on the spinning plater. This is why deejay using felt mats only (slipmats) on Technics.


I don’t use felt mats on any of my turntables in the main system, so I can flip the records only when rotation is off.

@lewm, I though your problem with your Sota was speed variation? The Sota's suspension lacks real damping so it will bounce if you get it started but since the sub chassis is enclosed that does not represent much of a problem. The MinusK platforms are not dampened either. People have complained of them bouncing if you lean on them. The heavy mass approach does not work well at all. Place you tonearm down on a record with the turntable off. Watch the woofer or subwoofer move. In you case it would be the diaphragm if you can see it. Have someone jump on the floor while you observe the woofer. With the Sota you will see nothing. That is working pretty good in my book. 
@atmasphere , I know Ralph, that is why I always reference my opinion as coming from the distant past. I just love rubbing chakster the wrong way:-)  The real issue for me is because of my long term use of subwoofers with ESLs isolation is more important to me than absolute speed accuracy although Sota's new drive seems to be very close to DD standards none of them have a suspension I would care to run with subwoofers and mine run 5 dB up from zero at 20 Hz which is what it takes to load the room correctly. I have had solid plinth tables here to set up for friends and even with a concrete floor the subwoofer drivers flutter.
I'm sure your plinth was better. If you have one of your turntables around it would be interesting to install Sota's Eclipse system and see what you get. If the wow and flutter are down at 0.03% or even less than 0.05% I can't see how you could want better than that. I think the SP10R is down around 0.02%. That difference is totally inaudible where as lack of a suspension is totally audible.

I wasn’t so much worried about the delay but the stress of constant starting/stopping on the motor.

Doan worry aboutit.

There’s no problem at all in this regard- we’d know about it by now; Technics motors have been running fine for decades.

The real issue for me is because of my long term use of subwoofers with ESLs isolation is more important to me than absolute speed accuracy

I’ve used Technics with Sound Labs and they are really happy together! But I also use a good equipment stand, equipped with proper anti-vibration platforms, not just for the turntable but the preamp too. My speakers go to 20Hz perfectly flat (they are about 3db down at 15 Hz) and no worries with low frequency noise interacting with the Technics! For the record, years ago we used to have a page on our website called the ’Atma-Sphere Bass of the Year’ which was a list of recordings we used to show off bass response and impact. The Technics sails effortlessly through that!

I think the SP10R is down around 0.02%. That difference is totally inaudible where as lack of a suspension is totally audible.

You don’t hear speed variation of 0.05% as a pitch change as its too subtle. But you do hear it as a slight ’shimmer’ in the soundstage, since speed variation causes a radially tracking arm to oscillate side to side in the groove (due to the variation in skating forces). It really is something to hear how a Technics sorts that particular phenomena out! Reel to reel tape does not have this issue since speed variation does not affect the output of either channel. So it has a ’locked in’ soundstage that is a bit of a trick for turntables- but the Technics pulls it off with ease.


Try it you’ll like it!

@atmasphere, Ralph, I just bought a new Sota so another turntable is not going to happen in the near future. I will listen for a "shimmer" in the sound stage. DD turntables have always speced well in regards to speed stability. That was not enough to help them years ago. It would be fun to have one in my system for a sort while to hear a modern one but nobody I know has one. There are other issues however. I am sold on vacuum clamping which is not provided with any DD table I am aware of. A suspended plinth I can easily make. 

@mijostyn  You'll want to be careful using the vacuum system! I had a Sota Cosmos some years back that damaged the LP surface held against the platter pad. Dusting both sides before playing didn't fix it. Later, Sota changed the surface of the platter pad to be softer, which also changed the sound of the turntable. When I got our model 208 to sound better in every way I let the Cosmos go. For the record I've no idea how they handle this now.


You are incorrect about the speed stability of properly executed DD machines- there is a very good reason the Technics SP10MkIII holds a high value on eBay- its a performer and takes any belt drive machine to task. The new SP10R and SL1200G do too.


The reason that it 'was not enough to help them years ago' is due to misinformation and nothing more- I know, I fell victim to that same misinformation.