Worth having my SOTA Sapphire refurbished?

Nice to find this thread.I am currently in the same boat. 86/87 Sota star sapphire, one owner, Zeta tone arm, monster alpha 2 high freq MC cart. Not a big turntable user so have little to no knowlege as far as setting up, tone arm set up, etc..., but the price was right so here I am.

I hooked it up, reading everything thing I can on the unit for months and I'm stuck. Table has a slight wobble (it reads level,both platter and body). I have minimzed that through set up as best I can, but i can still see it. I am getting static out of the right channel. I inverted the RCA jacks, and the static goes to the left.It seems the static hits on the up wave of the wobble. The Vaccume also does not work. I'm also not sure how to set up the arm properly and wonder if that is the/part of the problem? They zeta "manual" tells you what to do, but I dont know antis skate from tracking force to counter wegith, etc...

I really just want a plug and play unit. I was thinking of selling the tone arm and cart, getting what I can for the table and buying rega, clear audio or pro ject with the cash I get from selling the arm, cart and TT, but everything I read says don't, the tables are great, etc...

I also have the original box. I was thinking about taking it to a local shop, but the guys are pretty unfamiliar with SOTA. They have heard of it of course, but meh, not sure I'd want them workin on it. My other option is sending it to SOTA, but time, packing and money does not seem worth it. Its not like I have great equipment to start (Moscode 300 amp, parasound p3 pre, parasound phono amp over some B&W 603s3). I also got a pair of acoustat model 1s with the TT as well. Driving me crazy to see guys with $100 turntables enjoying there tunes,while here I sit with what appears to be a pretty good set up, unable to enjoy the records that came wiht it,as well as all I have bought. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would normally not recommend it, but at your level of knowledge, it probably would indeed be better for you to buy a new tt with a built-on tonearm. But no matter what tt and tonearm you use, you are going to have to understand the different terms associated with analog, e.g., vertical tracking force (VTF), vertical tracking angle (VTA), azimuth, "skating force" and the use of anti-skate devices, etc. The concepts are really simple and logical, if you've had even high school level geometry. You can probably find a tutorial on Youtube to explain it all and remove the veil of ignorance.

Finally, another reason to suggest you move on to a "plug and play" set-up is that the SOTA in "as is" condition, even with no functional defects (and it sounds like your tt may have a seriously compromised bearing to begin with), is no great shakes (my opinion, but I did own a SOTA Star Sappire Series III for many years as my only tt). SOTA the company can revive your unit and upgrade it to ameliorate all the perceived issues, but the cost may equal or exceed that of a new budget level tt with tonearm. That said, if you were to give them carte blanche to do the max upgrades, you would indeed then have a fine modern tt. But do you want or need something that good? It's your call.

Get a TW table used big upgrade had SOTA got TW big upgrade,your move!!

You are caught between a rock and a hard place, Easy. Unlike Lewm, I love the Sapphire I bought new in 1984 and wouldn't consider anything else. However, he is correct regarding the bearing, and it sounds like your arm may also be toast. Moreover, the base value of the table, arm and cartridge mean that if you choose to refurbish, you really should go all the way. That will be at least two or three grand if you have to replace the bearing, upgrade the platter, repair the suspension, refurbish / replace the vacuum pump, rewire the tonearm and service the cart.

A Pro-Ject or Rega will get you 85% to 90% of what the Sota can deliver for half the refurbishment cost, and may be a better match to your listening style to boot. The problem is you will still have a high-end rig that will be difficult to sell and you wouldn't get much money for in its present condition.

Good luck and happy listening!

thanks for all the advice. I don't think the issue is with the tone arm, but what do I know. The thing looks brand new, I know he never moved the thing one set up, cared for his gear greatly and knew what he was doing. I really think its the table along with user error from moving it (I of course moved it per SOTA directions, locking down the transfer bolts, etc...)

I think I'm going to take it to a local shop and have it looked at, get the arm and the cart checked out and if they are up to snuff sell them and move on to an new table.

I cheked out a bunch of youtubes last nigh and understand and am starting to grasp "vertical tracking force (VTF), vertical tracking angle (VTA), azimuth, "skating force" and the use of anti-skate devices". I printed the Zeta protractor from VE and that came out fine when I checked last night after I posted.

Either way, I'm too far down the road to turn back now.