Defintely grab the Sota. They make great gear. Dump the linear arm and mount the Rega. The Blue Point is toast. I personally like the BPS and have heard of having them retipped but for the price of new one why bother. The Shure 97 in a Rega arm on a Sota would be a waste of a good TT. Clean the TT yourself, invest the savings in some basic alignment tools and buy a decent cartridge. Should be able to turn it into a gem for around $300- $400 and basic setup and aligment is not as difficult as it sounds. A local dealer might tune it for you but your efforts would give you the chance to hear 99%.
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
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