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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
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 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
1,902 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.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,902 posts
 
Doh, I was misinformed; I though all older Sapphires has 3-point. I have played with an old Sapphire (with the Jelco-made Koetsu arm that's not nearly as heavy/nice as a FR64fx) that was definitely 3-point. The 4-point suspension is much nicer.
enschicago OP
1 posts
 
Thanks for all the comments! My gut told me to keep the SOTA but I wasn't sure if that was for sentimental reasons because it is my Grandfathers old TT. I've bought stuff from this dealer in the past and I trust these guys... not sure why he was pushing so hard for the trade-in.

Mulveling - you were right, it would have been a trade in AND i would have to pay some more $ for the P6.

I've contacted SOTA and they were super helpful. I'm planning on getting it tuned up and can't wait to see what this this can do!

Any recommendations on replacing the cart? My grandad had a Monster Alpha genesis 1000 but my budget is closer to the $500 range. I've read a lot of good things about the Dynavector 10x5.
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