New turntable: TW or Obama?

I'm pretty old, but wasn't it obvious the title was a typo?  Sheesh.

I always forget that audiophiles span the political spectrum, as road******'s post reminds me.

Things are getting too political here for me.  Lighten up and enjoy the music.  Cya.

@tomic601  thanks, hope so - great guidance from AG members, learned a lot

Went through this decision last year and was almost unanimously encouraged  by Audiogon members to refurbish my SOTA Star/SME V combo, so that's what I did (it's nearly ready).  However, I was looking at a replacement price range well under the gear you're considering. 

We have probably both gotten used to the low noise floor of the SOTA.  I figured "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone," so I kept the rig.  I see another poster has expressed the same sentiment re: the virtues of the SOTA/SME V. 

Thanks for starting this thread.  I'll be watching, but I can't give you any input on these tables and arms, and I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other.  Just thought my very similar experience might be of interest.

Specifics of the $3k+ renewal (I wasn't interested in packing and shipping everything to SOTA, so I took the TT to my local high end shop where I bought the table long ago):

• new TT bearing and springs (motor is still good - who knows how long?)
• sent SME V to Alfred Kayser in Canada for disassembly, cleaning and new bearings, as well as new internal wiring - continuous length from cart to preamp
  
• new Audio-Technica ART9XA cart (had to switch out preamp's internal MC resistors to get more gain for .2mv output)
  

This has made me interested in opinions comparing the Kuzma Stabi R and the "ancient" SOTA Star Sapphire.

Does anyone here have the listening experience to weigh in on that?  If so, how did you get there?

All I can say is, when I put a record on the SOTA Star, give the vacuum a few seconds and thunk the label with my thumb, the solidity always makes me smile.  The resulting silent, black background is a true joy.  Suspension TT's, baby.  That's the key IMHO.  If the Kuzma is clearly better, go for it.