Developing A List Of Tonearm Candidates For A SOTA Turntable

@mijostyn I have an ebony CB-1L on the Scheu with the Verismo and its a wonderful combination. I love the performance of the arm, but its just such a pain in the butt to set up. Those settings remind me of a 1960’s 0r 70’s era of arm. But I cannot deny it sounds excellent, and probably the main reason I was willing to move on from the SME. I think I will buy a 3009 III to put my MC2000 on and it will be easy to swap in when I want it.

I have not heard of issues with Origin Live, I will look at that closer as I was considering an Enterprise.

I guess a Kuzma would be a solid choice also.

Clearaudio is another I have thought of, but I find no one being enthusiastic about them, and I wonder if its the stigma of a "big" company, something that Ortofon and Audio Technica often get tagged for.

Something will come along. I have the Scheu/Shcroder/Verismo set up and it satisfies. My digital sounds very nice, so I am not in a bad place.

Still have not made a decision yet, but one of the candidates is the Origin Live Enterprise. The next arm up is way too heavy and out of the limits of the suspension. 

Well I have finally gotten some information back. Looks like I can fit the Origin Live Agile to the table with a custom made arm board to meet the weight requirements of the suspension. So the plan is to fit it to the SOTA and I will install the Transfiguration Proteus on it. I will hold the Audio Tekne in reserve as option 2. Now we need to make the final arrangement and get it ordered. 

Part of this process was deciding how to consolidate my analog stuff. I was looking at a  way of improving upon my second table, and maybe just maybe buying a great table and running just one arm on it, perhaps one that would have displaced the SOTA. As I looked at my options, I really did not see something I could afford off the pre-owned market that would substantially raise the bar from where I am. I also had to ask myself if the rest of the system in this room would benefit from this change. Well the Scheu motor one day did not turn on when I flipped the switch, tossed it again and up we go. Break out the contact cleaner and give it a mist, and thought we were OK. Two weeks later it happened again, so I pulled my ad and figured it needs a deep cleaning or a new switch. It is probably a $20 switch, so no big deal in the giant scheme of things. 

So I took the money and ordered the Agile tonearm and thought I was good. But in my heart of heart, I came to grips with the idea that I still want to listen to my Ortofon MC2000. I had a conversation previously with Jeff Spalls and he said its possible to build an arm in the single digits of mass from previous Audiomods parts combined with certain aspects from the Model 6. So i sent an email to him saying could we do this? I am scheduled in early August to have an arm built. 

So in the end I parted with 2 arms, a phono stage, an MC3000 II, MC5000, MC200, a set of Focal Stellia headphones, Channel Island headphone amp stack, and a Tara Labs power conditioner. 

I am looking forward to hearing the SOTA Cosmos Eclipse and Origin Live combo, and believe this will be a very nice sounding table. 

Got notification that the SOTA arm board has been built, and it is heading my way along with the Origin Live Agile tonearm. Fed Ex says it will deliver this coming Wednesday. Now I just have to decide which cartridge to put on it. I have the Transfiguration Proteus, Kiseki Blackheart, and Audio Tekne MC6310 on hand for this. 

The Agile tonearm and custom arm board delivered yesterday. I spent a bit of time reading the manual and bolting the arm to the board and placing it on the table. You have to remove a cushion/ spacer in the arm bearing that is used for transit. The arm bearing functions differently than I expected. Familiarized myself with the VTA collar and what to expect from it. Need to mount the tone arm cable strain relief clip and then route wire and bolt down the board. I figure to get this up and going during the weekend. 

@wspohn 

I dreamed of a V ever since I sold them when a part time sales person during my college years. I put one on my Cosmos when I received it but never cared for the tables sound with it in place. I did bolt up an Audiomods Sweies 6 for a bit and to be honest I preferred the presentation with a Transfiguration Proteus, but Indis not want to believe it. I did eventually find a satisfactory combination with a Kiseki Blackheart first generation, but other carts only had middling success on this table. Earlier yhis year I decided this was enough and I would do an arm change. I looked at various candidates but the small arm board eliminated many contenders. It came down to Kuzma, Graham, Moerch, and Origin Live. The Agile was my best option for a few reasons, so I made my choice and paid my monies.

@wrm57 To me the system works like Pete Riggle VTA adjuster but there is an extended grub screw to lock the VTA setting. Since the Sota armboard sits lower than the top of the plinth it isn't the most convenient system to use. On another table I am sure it is just fine. But there are more convenient systems like the Wheaton one. 

I installed the Agile with a Transfiguration Audio Proteus, which is one of the cartridges I ran on the SME V. With the V I preferred an original Kiseki Blackheart to anything else, and was always disappointed on how the Proteus got along with it. 

What i find with the Agile is there is a richness to music that gets harmonic texture and density right, yet does not sacrifice the timing and pace of music. Also the full spectrum of music is evenly balanced, and no one sector stands out from the other.

Often, we listen to specific sections of our system in an evaluation, and certainly the lower region is taught and solid, the mids sound realistic, the upper register is articulate without being etched. But it is more about how the music flows together, and how different parts of the spectrum do more than blend seamlessly, but rather they are all cut from the same cloth. 

The presentation of space is excellent, the soundstage is expansive and performers are solidly formed with a realistic size. Nothing to fault here. Finally, dynamic presentation is nimble, and while this is not the strongest suite of my speakers, the results are very enjoyable. 

There may be higher tier arms than the Agile. But for the physical limitations of my Sota Cosmos Eclipse and my pockets, I am quite content with this arm. This table build is done and I am able to be finished with it. 

@wrm57 Thatbis correct, with a hex key. Fairly easy to adjust, but not as good as a knob. But a SOTA has limited space on that island shaped arm board, so those arms with a VTA tower architecture just do not fit. But performance is the real deciding factor, and the Agile is a capable arm and that is what works for me. I will say it is substantial, and SOTA has to go to work hard at making an arm board that allows for this arm to work wither tables. Quite a synergistic pairing!

This line of discussion regarding offset and VTA is at times amusing, and at others tiring at best. I was listening to vinyl last night, and what i find is the SOTA with Agile arm is not only the best table and arm combination I have, it is satisfying in ways that other tables never have been. I had been through a journey of exploration over the last 15 years and have owned the SP10, DP75, Brinkman Bardo, Well Tempered Reference, Amazon Referenz, Galibier Serac, VPI Prime, and a number of arms. I am sure there are a few tables I missed in there, it is early in the morning here. 

What I hear with the Cosmos and Origin Live combination is fundamentally superior in every aspect of music reproduction. Some times you hear the sound you connect with and say this is it. I am at that point with this arm and table combination. Now the Proteus sounds very nice on the Scheu/Schroder combo I have, but it does not approach the beauty it posseses on the SOTA/Agile. I can listen to this all weekend in pure bliss. There combination has it all, richness, texture, subtle detail, inflection, spaciousness, solidity, there is nothing wanting of it that needs...nothing that needs to be a little bit better. So with this table I am stopping here, although I am curious about how the Verismo would sound on it. But to be honest, the Verismo on the Scheu/Schroder comes in second place, so I am not eager to move the cartridge over. I prefer to enjoy the beauty of what is in front of me. 

You can discuss offset bearings, variations in VTA, how it affects overhang and tracking force till the cows come home. But when I sit down and listen all of it becomes just outside noise that does nothing to distract me. The music captivates me and that is the specification and design element that matters to me the most. This is a lovely lovely table and arm.