Early SOTA vs New Something: Conundrum

@mijostyn It's about 3.5yrs old, a few months after the first Nova VI started shipping.

Get new TT be a sport!!

Mijostyn, I apologize for the vitriol, but you really should not be commenting on areas of the hobby with which you are not familiar, and here you’ve done it again. Different companies have taken very different approaches to DD turntable design with regard to “tightness” of servo control, platter mass, bearing design, motor type, etc. And none of your generalizations hold water.  Now where do you get the notion that the thrust bearing gets noisy, as compared to the thrust bearing in any other type of turntable? Please cite specific examples or sources. Because “bollocks” is a not inappropriate response.

I’m a Sota fanboy.  Full disclosure.  I heard my first Sota turntable in 1989 and bought my first Sota- a Sapphire III  in 1992.  I traded in my Star this past winter for the Nova Vi with vacuum, mag bearing, eclipse motor with the road runner and a gorgeous cherry plinth.  It is super quiet and stable speed.  I love it.  Best turntable deal in hifi, I think.  
I listened to the Brinkmann turntables last year with my records on similar speakers and a similar preamp.  These turntables look hifi.  They look cool.  The vacuum tube power supply option is about the price of a Nova Vi base model.  These tables have no isolation so they require some sort of isolation platform- more cost. They sounded ok.  I could not hear any noticeable improvement over my Sota.  At least my ears couldn’t. 
‘The Sota turntables have a lot going for them in terms of engineering and great sound.  I can attest to their longevity and reliability.  Sure, the suspension needs refurbishing after several years.  It degrades over time and you may not notice it until you hear a new table.  My experience is that the springs weaken and allow the sub chassis to rotate left and right- torsional movement.  These are very small movements but it affects the pace and the sound of the highs.  They way I found out on my sapphire III after a decade + of use was to chock the sub chassis against the plinth with rubber blocks.  The pace and the highs sounded natural again.  
‘And yes, the Nova still has the well for lead shot to balance the sub chassis. 

@lewm , Lew, I think you need to read my posts a little more carefully. I said that I am not familiar with the drives of DD turntables. I pay no attention to them because they were so bad, initially at least, that my meager brain can not get up the courage to try a new one. It still thinks they all s-ck. As for bearings, THEY ALL WEAR OUT except the air or magnetic ones. If this generalization is wrong please show me a mechanical bearing that does not wear out. 

The thought of a large oscillating magnetic field anywhere near a phonograph cartridge makes me cringe.