Developing A List Of Tonearm Candidates For A SOTA Turntable

This line of discussion regarding offset and VTA is at times amusing, and at others tiring at best. I was listening to vinyl last night, and what i find is the SOTA with Agile arm is not only the best table and arm combination I have, it is satisfying in ways that other tables never have been. I had been through a journey of exploration over the last 15 years and have owned the SP10, DP75, Brinkman Bardo, Well Tempered Reference, Amazon Referenz, Galibier Serac, VPI Prime, and a number of arms. I am sure there are a few tables I missed in there, it is early in the morning here. 

What I hear with the Cosmos and Origin Live combination is fundamentally superior in every aspect of music reproduction. Some times you hear the sound you connect with and say this is it. I am at that point with this arm and table combination. Now the Proteus sounds very nice on the Scheu/Schroder combo I have, but it does not approach the beauty it posseses on the SOTA/Agile. I can listen to this all weekend in pure bliss. There combination has it all, richness, texture, subtle detail, inflection, spaciousness, solidity, there is nothing wanting of it that needs...nothing that needs to be a little bit better. So with this table I am stopping here, although I am curious about how the Verismo would sound on it. But to be honest, the Verismo on the Scheu/Schroder comes in second place, so I am not eager to move the cartridge over. I prefer to enjoy the beauty of what is in front of me. 

You can discuss offset bearings, variations in VTA, how it affects overhang and tracking force till the cows come home. But when I sit down and listen all of it becomes just outside noise that does nothing to distract me. The music captivates me and that is the specification and design element that matters to me the most. This is a lovely lovely table and arm. 

@audio_rd_uk, my mistake. I appreciate the clarification on slight variances.

@neonknight, great to hear how satisfying this new set up is. That’s what we’re all after.

@wrm57 I apologise I hadn't answered your question regarding 12" OL Arms.  Yes I have and in fact I do have a 12" Enterprise arm, as when I bought the Sovereign it had that and the 12" Arm board, which fortunately for me is one you can swap over between a Resolution and Sovereign.   When I got the Sovereign and was already ordering the Agile from OL and had specified 9.5", Mark was at the time working on upgrades to Voyager, the Renown arm and he platter modifications and was at that point leaning himself towards 12" being preferable. So  I did contemplate going for the Agile in 12".  The reason I didn't was that when I tried the Enterprise it was clearly several steps above the Encounter arm I'd originally got when I bought the resolution. It was great with ballads, but if anything it felt/sounded like the result was 'dampening' perhaps 'too smooth' on fast percussive tracks. Further discussion with Mark at the point when he was developing the Voyager-S platter from which some of the Strata mat technology trickled down he was by this time last year considering that the upgrades to the turntable were leaning towards a 9.5" having the best balance overall.  That is what I have gone with on my upgrades and been very happy.  You can see what is my turntable on the videos (and actually also my Whest phonostage) on the  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O9i5t0aGvg video of UK HiFi show 2023 at 9 min 37 Sec (sorry couldn't find an engl.   I do note that though the TT  sounded very good, that OL's 2023 exhibition rig of the speakers shown and sub can truly do even a Calypso and Silver / Onyx arm combo justice. Let alone a Sovereign / Agile, or Voyager/Renown.  I will find out tomorrow Fri 20th Sept whether they have upgraded that for 2024.  I will report back. 

@audio_rd_uk, thanks for following up on the 12-in Agile. Your rig looks sharp in the vid. So it seems you found the 12 to be slightly more relaxed and less dynamic that the 9.5, which is not unusual. I have 12 and 9 Graham Phantoms (III and Supreme, respectively) on the same turntable and that pretty much describes the difference in their sonic profiles. BTW, I recently adopted the OL Strata mat on this turntable. It's excellent, and I say that as someone with an embarrassing number of mats in the closet.

When the TT > Tonearm > Cart' are seemingly performing out in front of other permutations trialed or wed to. The introduction of using Platter Mats in a variety of types can then become another method to help really hone the end sound to ones preference.

I do this with a large selection of owned Mats and have found my go to mats. It s also quite a reveal how adding different spindle weights in conjunction with a Mat can enhance the qualities the Mat has shown as being able to add discernible improvements.