Need Advice Sota Sapphire III + SME IV arm

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.

I have a non-vacuum Sapphire III I bought new back in the day and recently upgraded by Kirk to V platter, suspension & external power supply (motor was fine). I went with a Graham arm and XX2 Mk II from my (sadly non-repairable) Magnepan Unitrac I & 17D3.

The SME IV is really something and with a refurbishment of the table, you will have about as close as you can get to state-of-the-art without dropping stupid money. That isn't to say a refurb will be cheap. It won't. However, if I were you, I'd spend whatever Kirk suggests to get the mechanicals up to snuff. It will be worth it.

I am a huge Dynavector fan. Their carts are smooth, natural, neutral and tight. With your speakers, and as good as it may be, the 10X5 won't even scratch the surface of what you could achieve with that table and arm. I strongly suggest you save some $$$ and go for at least a 20X2H (or better, the 20X2L if you are willing to go low output).

If it were my $$$, I would go low output with the 17D3. Get the VTA set right, and the 17D3 would make your system come alive. You could also consider the XX2 Mk II, but you want to be really sure that is the way you want to go before diving in.

Just my 2 cents, regardless. Good luck & happy listening!

With regard to your Monster Alpha cartridge I think you should send it to Andy at phonocartridgeretipping.com for inspection and see what he has to say. You may be fine or it may just need a tune up. I think the cost for inspection is about $30.

I owned a Star Sapphire Series III w vacuum for many years in the 90s. If you keep it (and I too would never trade it for Rega), you might consult SOTA to not only repair or replace the lip on the platter but more importantly in my opinion to upgrade the motor mount such that the belt is not stretched when the suspension flexes. The biggest flaw of my SSS III was pitch instability caused by the fact that the motor was mounted to the chassis while the platter, of course, is suspended by the springs. When the suspension was activated by any mechanical vibration, the belt would be stretched minutely, causing pitch to be altered. In the Cosmos and later models, they fixed that issue. OR, deactivate the springs and treat it like an unsuspended tt.