2. analog
  3. 179633-2654

Early SOTA vs New Something: Conundrum

Hiya,

In a nutshell: 

I have a Series I SOTA Star from prior to 1986. I've had it about 12 years. It has early AudioQuest B300 cartridge.  The Sumiko MDC-800 Arm is the best part of the unit. No modifications. No maintenance ever as far as I know.

The Arm was installed where a previous arm sat (not by me) and is not positioned correctly. 

It needs at least a new cartridge. But after a chat on the phone with SOTA, it sounds like after these years (plus the arm mis-location)  it needs a bit more than that. Upgrades, adjustments etc...

I could do a new cartridge, but it appears a waste without doing other needed work to the TT.

Cartridge, Tonearm board with other needed upgrades I'm looking at about the price of a new table. Such as a Technics 1200G or some such version of.

Time to jump ship? Or I could ignore it all and continue to run it as is. It honestly doesn't sound horrible. Not great either. But bad enough I don't play vinyl much anymore in favor of CD- digital

I do have an extensive LP collection and wouldn't mind listening to it...

Cheers,

RW

 

rwbadley

Showing 1 response by pryso

pryso
1,973 posts
 

rw,

1. I wouldn't install a new cartridge in an arm I knew was not positioned correctly.  That will make installation alignment difficult if not impossible.  So you will not experience the potential of the new cartridge.

2.  I've owned a couple of SOTAs and they can be very good tables.  But as others mentioned they do require maintenance (more than just bearing oil).  As I remember, the MDC-800 was a decent arm so probably doesn't need to be replaced, once installed correctly, so long as it is not damaged.

3.  I prefer the stability of speed in a decent DD table, such as the new Technics.  So my choice would be to buy that.  And there should be a buyer for the SOTA, particularly someone who can upgrade it themselves for a reasonable cost.

More to discover