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Need Advice Sota Sapphire III + SME IV arm

I recently inherited my grandfather's SOTA Star Sapphire III TT equipped with a very nice SME IV tonearm. He probably bought this back in 1989 or '90 and it was never played. He bought some Infinity IRS Beta speakers and I think he just thought he needed the best of everything to put with it - but he really just played CDs at that point.

I've never had a vacuum TT before and am debating on what to do with it. Other than needing a new cartridge everything works great! My current system is Paradigm Monitor 9s with a Rega Brio-r.

I took the table in to my local Hi-Fi store that I bought my other equipment at and they were advising me to trade it in a get something like a Rega RP-6 instead. I'm not sure how to estimate what the SOTA and SME IV would sell for but I don't think that I am getting good trade in value...

Any advise on whether to just get a new cartridge (something like a Dynavector 10x5) and keep the SOTA or should I look in to selling it and get something like the Rega P6?

Thanks for any help!
Eric
enschicago
rodrigaj
32 posts
 
I would be wary of returning to the dealer who made that trade offer.

I foolishly did the same thing with a Linn Sodek / Ittok combination and traded for a Marantz (clearaudio) tt. I got $300 off the list price. That was a foolish mistake economically and for audible reasons.

I don't blame the dealer, he's making a living. I blame myself, for not thoroughly researching the value of the Linn and the choices available for moving on from 22 years of living with the Linn.

The SOTA requires set up patience, but you will be rewarded with your perseverance.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,034 posts
 
Agree with the others; you'd be crazy to trade that in for Rega, unless you
were to net a wad of cash back (of course the reality is they'll ask you for your
table/arm PLUS a wad of cash, which is ludicrous).

Is that really a vacuum model? The Star series III (one step up from the
Sapphire
III) had a 4-point sprung suspension and a vacuum system. The Sapphire III
had
a 3-point suspension and no vacuum. The Star III is more desirable for its 4-
point suspension, but most of these models -- that haven't been refurbished
with a new platter -- will have their silicon platter lip in such poor condition
that
the vacuum hold-down fails (even if the pump still works fine, which it
probably
does).

My Star III (acquired 2007) had a bad lip -- I simply defeated the lip so that
records could at least lie flat on the platter (better than dishing outwards to a
slightly raised lip), and enjoyed all the other fine attributes of this excellent
table. With a quality arm like the SME IV, you'll have one hell of a table
(whether
it's a Sapphire or a Star, but especially if a Star).
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,492 posts
 
I had a Sota with an SMEV that didn't work well together...the arm was too heavy for the suspension. Maybe the IV is lighter and therefore will work better, but find out before spending a lot of money on it.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,034 posts
 
Good call; I didn't consider possible weight issues with the SME. Though on my Star III, I had a Fidelity Research FR64fx running beautifully -- and I can't imagine an SME IV being heavier than that. The 4-point vs. 3-point suspension may be crucial in these cases, since a heavy arm certainly destabilizes a 3-point.
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
I have a Sota Sapphire III. It has 4 suspension springs. I have an SME 309 arm plus a bag of lead for proper balance.
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