SOTA STAR Sapphire Turntable Care and Feeding


I'm seriously interested in a used SOTA STAR Sapphire Series III Turntable with Vacuum, Electronic Flywheel and SME Series IV Tonearm, that is close to me and a very reasonable price.  It would be a big step up from my current Pro-Ject X2B, but I want to make sure it is not too technical for my dinosaur brain before I pull the trigger.  How difficult it is to get set up?  Once it is set up, do you need to constantly fuss over it or just the occasional check?  I have an upgraded Joliida JD-9 phono pre-amp.  Would this pre-amp be sufficient for the SOTA  or would I need to upgrade that to do justice to the SOTA?  Any other quirks of this turntable that I should be aware of?  Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

John Cotner

New Ulm, MN

jrcotner

Showing 3 responses by cbrez

Congrats on your purchase! I am getting ready to pick up my new Nova VII from Christian in a week and am excited as well. Enjoy yours in the new year.

@mijostyn Curious about your comment on the Hana cartridges. I thought that the Red and the Blue have the same stylus and cantilever. Just wondering what the differences are that you mentioned. I know it is a bit off topic here, but I just ordered a Blue and was curious. Thanks.

@mijostyn Thanks for confirming on the Hanas. I appreciate your depth of knowledge in this area and it was one of the things that led me to the SOTA path in the first place.

@pindac Thanks for your words about the Hana as well!