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Do I go vintage or newer?

I'm considering getting back into vinyl. My budget is up to $1,000 for TT and arm, used. I've been looking at the Music hall MMF-7, Rega P5 and couple others. My local hi-end shop has a few Sotas from the 90's that they will refurb and sell to me cheap as long as I buy cartridge from them. My question is which is the better way to go, "vintage" Sota or newer model. Most of my listening will still be CD, but I do have around 200 or so LPs just dying to be heard again.
ehaller
clio09
3,354 posts
 
I had a SOTA NOVA of late and can recommend a vintage SOTA as a good choice, if it is refurbished properly. Suspended tables can be a bit tricky to deal with. From an implementation perspective a suspended table has to be isolated properly to sound its best.

Check Vinyl Nirvana (www.vinylnirvana.com) as Dave usually has some nice vintage tables for sale in your price range. Other than that I think both Jaybo and Tvad have made good suggestions for new tables.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
I love SOTA!
My jewel with a Jelco arm and goldring cartridge are awesome. I don't know why resale on turntables is so poor compared to other audio gear. Not much to go wrong with a Sota table except maybe a belt for $12. You can easily get a $2500 table for $1000 and be amazed.
Only suggestion on a Sota would be to get new interconnects. The stock built in interconnect on most Sotas is the weak link.
Enjoy!
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
I would add another vote for the Sota.
Starting a business relationship with a local Hi-End shop with analogue might work out well for you beyond this first transaction. You should ask them if they offer some help on set-up and trading-up for the future.

Happy (analogue) Listening!
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