Get new TT be a sport!!
Early SOTA vs New Something: Conundrum
Hiya,
In a nutshell:
I have a Series I SOTA Star from prior to 1986. I've had it about 12 years. It has early AudioQuest B300 cartridge. The Sumiko MDC-800 Arm is the best part of the unit. No modifications. No maintenance ever as far as I know.
The Arm was installed where a previous arm sat (not by me) and is not positioned correctly.
It needs at least a new cartridge. But after a chat on the phone with SOTA, it sounds like after these years (plus the arm mis-location) it needs a bit more than that. Upgrades, adjustments etc...
I could do a new cartridge, but it appears a waste without doing other needed work to the TT.
Cartridge, Tonearm board with other needed upgrades I'm looking at about the price of a new table. Such as a Technics 1200G or some such version of.
Time to jump ship? Or I could ignore it all and continue to run it as is. It honestly doesn't sound horrible. Not great either. But bad enough I don't play vinyl much anymore in favor of CD- digital
I do have an extensive LP collection and wouldn't mind listening to it...
Cheers,
RW
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- 38 posts total
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. |
@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. |
Actually, a well designed bearing for the application with adequate lubrication will never wear out. Dirt, heat, overloading and neglect are the demise of any bearing. The trick is for the bearing to never have metal to metal contact. The lubrication is the sacrificial material. Back in the 1980s I changed the oil in my wife’s 1983 Honda Accord every 3000 miles. When I took it in at 50,000 miles for the valve clearance adjustment the mechanic called me out and showed me my engine. It was clean inside and the machining marks were still visible on the cam lobes. He remarked that it was obvious I kept the engine well maintained. Same thing with my Sota turntables over the years. I remove the platter, clean and relube the bearing every few years.
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- 38 posts total