I've found the SME V I had seemed to get out of the way and let the cartridge do it's job.
Are there better arms?
Sure, but the SME is well thought out and most people will get pretty good results without weeks of tweeking.
I have a Basis Vector which I probably prefer but it took a good few weeks of fiddling to get there. With the SME you can get pretty much all the way there within a few hours.
Stringreen, I'd guess something was awry with the springs on your Sota as I (like Dover) had no problems balancing the SME on the Star I had.
Are there better arms?
Sure, but the SME is well thought out and most people will get pretty good results without weeks of tweeking.
I have a Basis Vector which I probably prefer but it took a good few weeks of fiddling to get there. With the SME you can get pretty much all the way there within a few hours.
Stringreen, I'd guess something was awry with the springs on your Sota as I (like Dover) had no problems balancing the SME on the Star I had.