Turntable Decision

Having owned turntables from each of the companies you mentioned I am happy to announce that everyone above is absolutely correct. I myself have a Sota Cosmos Vacuum coming hopefully next week. I have waited 8 months.
The Sapphire is IMHO the absolute best value in turntables available today. No other turntable gives you as much performance for the dollar and it will outperform turntables costing 3 to 4 times as much. The only issue with the Sapphire is that tonearm choice is limited. The Schroder CB fits perfectly. Origin Live arms fit but their customer service is not good. The SME IV and V fit perfectly if you can find good used units. Check out smetonearms.com  The Kuzma 4 Point 9 will fit as will the Stogi Ref. 

If money is an issue stick with the standard motor. You can upgrade to the Eclipse drive down the line if you get the itch. You will need a reflex clamp and the dust cover is so good it is mandatory. 

Buy direct from Sota. They will mount your arm for you. Talk to Donna Bodinet. 

The Sota will be fine in either system, your choice. 

Thank you all for such great feedback!

@milostyn -regarding tonearms, I have a supplier offering the Sapphire with a Jelco TS-550S arm. Your thoughts?

Gareents, Donna Bodinet just sent me this very recent review on a Nova which is very similar to the Sapphire.  http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0321/SOTA_Nova_VI_Vinyl_LP_Turntable_Review.htm

The Jelco was a great tonearm for the money. It is quite serviceable and I can not think of a better arm in that price range. But, I is not an arm I would buy. Why? I do not like removable head shells. I want one wire from cartridge to phono stage with two contacts only, one at each end. I prefer a straight vs "S" shaped arm. They are stiffer and have less inertia as a rule. The Jelco is a stable balance arm. I prefer a neutral balance arm as the VTF does not change with elevation. I like to see the vertical bearing at record surface level. This minimizes warp wow and results in more stable pitch. The 4 Point 9 is such an arm as long as you hardwire it's interconnect instead of using the DIN plug. It is quite a bit more expensive than the Jelco but over $1000 less expensive than the Schroder CB or Reed 2G. If you can absolutely not afford more than the Jelco I would give the Rega RB880 a good look. The Kuzma would make a noticeable improvement over either the Jelco or Rega arms. You can always install new arms in the future. You get a new arm board from Sota and start fresh.

the key question is the budget……

Yes the Kuzma is and should be a darling, $$$$$

@gareents

I know @mijostyn does not like removable headshell’s, but I prefer them as I can swap out easily for my mono cart when need be. I bought a Jelco 850 MKII from a recommendation by @noromance here on agon for my Sapphire. The 850 and 950 Jelco’s are much different than the earlier 750/550’s, etc. as they have a balanced ‘knife edge’ bearing. I like mine, and it was about $1,400 new. But, good luck finding an 850 or 950 now. Personally, I would search out a 850/950 before considering a 550/750/etc. arm.

Alternatively, in that price range, there are now better and more available arms, like the Origin Live series, or the others @mijostyn mentioned.