First, I would suggest the Cosmos over the Millenia. Then, I have heard the VPI and generally found it to be unimpressive. I have never heard the Kuzma, so I have nothing to offer there. I doubt that a person would be disappointed with tables of this quality, but for me having the Sota, and hearing the VPI did not make me want to sell. |
Nrchy. thks for yr feedbk. I was impressed by the review fr DicK Olser of Enjoythemusic.com abt the Kuzma reference with Graham 2.2 tonearm. as for the VPI, High-end audio Salvatore seems to rave abt the prototype VPI. Considering Sota for its beauty and vacuum mechanism. anyway what is it abt the sound of VPI u don't like |
Dear trailblazers_song@yahoo.com: All those TT's are very good ones and the Sota vacuum mechanism is a plus.
For that kind of money you can do better with an Acoustic Signature Mambo or a Verdier ( second hand ).
Now, I don't know which tonearm/cartridge do you own, this combo in my opinion is even more important that the TT ( what do you own today? TT. why do you want to change it? ) alone and of course the critical phonopreamp that is extremly important too.
Regards and enjot the music.
Raul. |
hi rauliruegas : I did hear verdier platine with morch dp6 and ortofon jubilee. The sound was superb and I was attracted to it. however was concern whether its magnetically levitated platter will give rise to problem in the future. what do u think? presently I have a Gyro SE with SME IV with goldring elite. my phono is fr Trichord Delphini. TQ |
trailblazers, after listening to a vacuum platter for a number of years I find that tables without it seems to have a looseness around the bottom end that I don't get anymore. The vacuum seems to tighten things up nicely. I use a good clamp in the Sota Reflex Clamp, but I don't know if it's redundant with the vacuum!?!
The Sota seems to me to have more lower midrange and bass solidity. |
Dear Audioblazer: You have a nice analog rig.
Now, no I don't think that you could have any problem with the magnetic bearing on the Verdier speaking specific on the " magnetic bearing ". No problem.
Great combo you heard.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. |
I have owned the Verdier & I have heard THE ("prototype")HRX mentioned above. Purchased the Kuzma Reference with Airline arm. Try to hear one before a final decision.
Regards. |
Hi Avphile. I heard a lot of great thgs abt kuzma airline. However I noticed that it works using some kind of air pump which need to be place far away in order not to hear hissing sound. I m discourage from purchasing it because of such inconvenience since my gears are in my living hall. TQ for the feedback |
Audioblazer, I must say, I was shocked at how easy this arm to set up, and how quiet the Sil-Air compressor is. The hissing you mention is faint & I have only heard it twice in last few weeks. Kuzma includes about 30 metres of tubing, so you can put it just about anywhere. (I.E. Hole through floor to basement?). Do not let this noise issue discourage you. It is a non issue as far as I am concerned.
Regards. |
Hi Audioblazer,
well I bought an adapter from Festor and adjusted it
to the Sil-Air compressor and now I do not hear the hiss
anymore.
Well if you can afford it go for the Kuzma-Reference
and the Kuzma Airline and mount the ZYX-Universe
This combo is perfect.
Regards.
Karl-Heinz |
Sorry for the grave-dig. I am considering either the Kuzma Ref or the Sota Millenia. Nrchy, I am curious why you recommend the Cosmos over the Millenia? |
FWIW,the Cosmos is far more beautiful(IMO)than the Millenia.It has the advantage of a "nested platter",not unlike the pricey Continuum tables(the belt and motor are not subject to as much dust/air borne pollution).Also,the Cosmos(I've owned three different mod/type-series I,III,and the IV which is fabulous,and a steal at the asking price)has a locked motor mount that keeps constant tension on the belt(it is also very silent),for a very(really,really accurate)precise and constant platter speed.
I believe the suspension is a little different(not positive),but the table is wonderful,and the vacuum aspect is absolutely effective,and very silent/reliable.
All tables mentioned are "wonderful",IMO.Yet,the Cosmos does have one weakness(from what I see from many hobbyists' choices)...it is simply too "realistically priced"!!AND has been around(and updated)for too long,in order for SO many audio hobbyists to "realize" just how fantastic,and reasonabley priced it is....A BARGAIN IMO!!...If it were advertised more(Sota is very low key here,and relies on word of mouth)and were priced FAR higher,and called something like "Ultimate Reference" there would be more sales.Silly,and just look at the web-site for a good education on it's features,advantages and benefits to the owner.
Best of luck. |
Sirspeedy I should probably divulge that I used to own a Sota Sapphire. This was a pretty old model, bought new about 15 years ago. There were a number of things I did not like about it, most of all the rather jiggly suspension. I do not know if modern Sota's have a more damped suspension, but the Kuzma is certainly nicely damped. I only wish that Kuzma offered vacuum hold-down, that would seal the deal (pun not intended) for me. |
Amfibius,I did not like the old suspension either,among other things....I had owned Stars as well..two of them.The new models are in a different universe totally,in all aspects!...The suspension on the Cosmos III,and IV is almost stiff in downward feel,and totally outperformed my previous air suspension(I had the springs bypassed)as well as the older(ancient)suspensions,which were like pendulums.
The SOTAS of the latest era are in a different league,in performance/fit/finish/customer service.
good luck. |
Good to see you looking at getting a TT. I'll chime in for the HRX to balance out the opinions.
The HRX is a great sounding table, comes with an easy to use tonearm with probabaly the easiest to use repeatable VTA adjustment, SDS speed controller as well as clamp and the oh so very useful outer ring, is well priced and availability or resale is easy. 2nd arm wands are able to be swapped in & out, in about 10 seconds with only VTA to then adjust.
The downside is that the air bladders leak a bit. The new squash ball suspension is good thou. It is rather large, so space to sit it might be an issue. |
Hi Shane. I have read elsewhere that the VPI HRX is a bit dry sounding. Also, I want vacuum hold-down. The Sota seems to tick all the boxes for me. |
To be fair,a few of my close pals have VPI tables/products(mostly the very latest TNT w/12.6 arm,and latest heavy platter)and they are anything but dry.Quite superb actually. |
Amfibius
Not sure dry sounding is the right word. It is certainly a leaner sound than the richer sounding older TNT's. Some may just classify that as neutral.
If you are looking at vacuum hold down, certainly SOTA and Basis are the two obvious options. |
Amfibius wrote: I do not know if modern Sota's have a more damped suspension, but the Kuzma is certainly nicely damped. I only wish that Kuzma offered vacuum hold-down, that would seal the deal (pun not intended) for me. I have owned a Cosmos and currently own (and sell) Kuzma. The Kuzma Stabi Ref suspension is spring-in-oil, with resonant frequency of about 2 Hz and doesn't dance. Leveling and setup couldn't be much simpler. As for vacuum hold down, I don't miss it with the Kuzma which has an excellent clamping system. It gets out of the way of the music. |
I had a Sota Cosmos mk3. I ordered a custom finish which began to crack after a month of receiving the turntable which was delivered 4 months after the promise date.
A year later, the table went back in for warranty service (the defective cabinet which cracked in several places) which was suppose to take 2 weeks to turn around. Granted I opted for the mk4 upgrade which cost an additional $800 or $900 I forget which delayed the return of the table for 3 months.
The turntable came back and it looked amazing. But my ear was able to hear that the Cosmos Mk4 couldn't play a record at consistent speed. To this day, I still don't know where the money for the mk4 upgrade went. All I got was a bill/service receipt with a mk4 line item with the cost. No description as to where that money went into the table.
I have since had the opportunity to play with a vintage $300 turntable that keeps far better speed than the SOTA. |
Sorry to hear that James.Quite the contrary to my experiences,over many years dealing with the SOTA products.
FWIW,the series IV update is to better isolate the motor/mount,and adds significant damping to the sub-assembly.I had the series III and felt the series IV was clearly better.ALL my motors ran flawlessly,over the years.
One thing folks have to understand is that Sota is not a huge company,like many other high end mfgrs,so it cannot be easy to meet time constraints if certain factors occur.Like parts back-orders.Sudden increase in orders from a good review,etc.
I know Kirk(the owner) is a very dedicated guy(to his customers)and he tries to satisfy everyone...to the max!!Any issues should go through him.He has been extremely approachable from my perspective,and makes a fabulous product,in the long run!
Good luck. |
Yep, I know, they are in the cottage industry area, and I can certainly understand limited resources. Customer experience aside, the Cosmos mk4 did not play as steady as a Luxman PD-264. But having the vacuum pull down was very cool, and the final finish was drop dead gorgeous. |
