Upgrade Sota Comet or buy a used table?

I would go with the upgrade. The table will easily be worth what you paid for it if you want to sell later. Or how about upgrading to a Sapphire now. I have and do own a number of Sotas and they are well worth the money at each level. My Cosmos IV is the best table I have ever owned or heard.

I had an VPI Aries that I recently got on trade. It sold fast. It is a "NICE" sounding turntable but I preferred my buddy's new Sota Comet to the VPI. More music seemed to be difference. The Sota just had more information. It was clearer smoother and had a much better tonal balance. Oddly enough we used a Sumiko Blackbird as our test cartridge on both tables. Keep in mind that there many differences and that the VPI given a different cartridge and could sound better than the Comet. For the test to be completely fair we would have to have the same tonearm on both tables just like we did with the cartridge.

I think you could do alot better for a little bit more money by moving on to something else. Please don't be insulted, but remember, the Comet is a "starter" table. You alredy bought it once and now you are thinking about throwing $800.00 back into it. Now, you may Love your Comet, but do you really know how much better and even magical sound you can obtain with something else? I would suggest a used Spacedeck, or Well Tempered Classic. They both are "real" tables that could relieve you from the upgrade bug in the future. But thats just me, if you are hot for VPI like everybody else here, then consider that too. I had a Sapphire for years and even after much tweaking and factory upgrades (Sota loves upgrades, hint, hint) it was easily bested by even my humble '70's AR with a homemade arm. I mean it was no comparison. Yes, this move will cost you more than $800.00, but you will be set for a long time unless you eventually decide to spend an insane amount of money on your analog set up.

I would think you would be much better off staying in the Sota line. trade them your table for a better Sota...a refurbished Sapphire or Star... Good company