Turntable upgrade - worth the effort?


I currently have an NAD 533 with a Shure M97xE cartridge and am looking to upgrade. A friend has offered to let me borrow long term (and possibly keep) an older SOTA Saphire. It has a Souther linear tracking arm (I believe an SLA-3, which he claims had some tracking problems)and a Sumiko Blue Point Special. When I went to borrow it, I noticed that the turntable has been unused for many years and the needle was gone from the cartridge. I assume that I need to replace the entire cartridge (not just the needle) - and the turntable may need to be serviced since it has been unused for many years. He also has an RB 300 arm that is unattached (presumably used before the Souther).

Since I am not particularly adept mechanically, if I borrow this turntable, will I be asking for all kinds of headaches - both with regard to set up and financial (new cartridge). I really just want to upgrade my analog with as little headache as possible.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Related Equipment
Preamp - BAT 3ki
Amp - Hafler DH 220
Speakers - Spendor FL9
crg

Showing 1 response by basement

I have not ever had to set up a sota from the ground up, but I have heard them next to other turntables I am familiar with, I have adjusted arms on some, and they are truly good tables. They have very good build quality and they sound good, real good. But their reputation speaks louder than me. That particular turntable was considered to be a cut above the vpi hw19 jr. and mk III. It sure wouldn't hurt you to try it.
Being as it is not yours I can understand you want to be careful. There is a procedure for moving/transporting it, and perhaps your freind knows and could tell you. I have seen them moved from the shop many times without any preparation.
Depending on where you live and the resources available to you, and whether or not you set up your own cartridges, In my opioion it would be worth it to try your cartridge on it. If you don't want to set up the cartridge and arm yourself you could take it to a place locally. Sota will mail you an armboard, if you don't already have one. That may be a lot cheaper and easier than sending the whole thing to sota. You could clean it yourself, and partake in it's beauty.
Where I am going with this is that the sooner you try it, the sooner you will like it. You don't nessasarily have to go all the way with it at first, it would be much more cabable of getting more out of better cartridges and benifit from better tuning, but you could get a substantial taste. And you get to try a much better turntable. Your freind gets it cleaned. Appreciation and generousity is spread. Sounds like a great use of time to me. Beats raking leaves.