Best pivoted arm for SOTA less than $1000 used

If you can find one (which will take some patience), a 1980's Magnepan Unitrac unipivot arm would be a fine match. I've used that arm on a non-vacuum SOTA Sapphire since I purchased them new in 1983, currently with a Grado Reference Sonata (formerly with a Grace F9E Ruby).

VTA adjustment is done simply by turning a knob, which can even be done during play.

Although it is unrelated to the arm, I should mention that with the unshielded wood body Grado there is a very slight hum evident in my system when the cartridge is above the SOTA's rotating platter. It is only audible from within a few feet of the speakers, when no music is being played and the room is totally quiet. It disappears when the cartridge is not positioned directly above the platter.

I believe that this arm typically sells these days for around $300 or $400, but it does not appear very often.

Regards,
-- Al

I agree with Al. The Magnepan Unitrac would be a good choice at the pricepoint for your cartridge. The VTA adjustment on it is particularly sweet, too.

However, if you find one, make certain that it is complete. They tend to show up with this or that missing.

I have had great performance from Origin Live arms. Started near the bottom and am now near the top and all have been delightful. Increases in performance have come with increases in price. All have been used arms.
Reguards, Denny

No experience with the Maggie Unitrac, other than reading a long standing good reputation, but one of the Sumiko Premier arms may be easier to find. There was an association between Sumiko and SOTA and those arms were a common match when they were new products. The first generation of those arms was the MMT. It was S shaped and offered a removable headshell. The later FT-3 and 4 had straight arm tubes and a fixed headshell.

I owned a SOTA Sapphire with the FT-3 which seemed to offer very good performance per dollar. And yes, the FT-3 included a threaded VTA adjustment that was easy to use. The manual said it could be done "on the fly" although I never tried that. You should be able to find a nice example for under $300.

The AQ arms were similar (sourced from same manufacturer) but I don't have any experience with them.

The Sumiko the Arm is in that price range..or close to it and is a match.