Early SOTA vs New Something: Conundrum

Hi Spencer thanks for your reply

With the new cartridge installed I am currently (other than the switch failure) very happy with the SOTA. My plan is to run it as-is for the moment. It now bests my digital front end; I'll call that a win

I did speak with Donna she was quite helpful. There is very little trade in value for her as she stated the platter was the only thing she was interested in. The rest of the TT is a 'teardown' apparently. Which brings me to the point that 3K for a complete rebuild still leaves me with a nearly 'forty year old' SOTA by the serial numbers.  It seems I would be better off to kick in a bit more for a new Star and selling off the current one for 1200$ (with the old cartridge I guess) if I went that route.

So I am here:

The springs have sagged. It still has shock absorption and the table is in a spot it has no exposure to footfall or speaker/sub vibrations. The platter is level.

The motor may not be up to current standard, but it seems to be running smooth enough I don't hear obnoxious speed fluctuation. It's true I am sure it could be improved.

The start switches don't work.

The Sumiko MDC800 was and still is highly regarded. I think the secondary market price for it is fairly strong at 800$ give or take. It works well enough. The used vintage SOTA prices are all over from 500- or less up to around 1500-1800 depending.

The new AT cartridge did allow me to get the length issue with placement sorted, so that was huge...

And finally- the bearing. The platter spins smoothly and with a quiet vinyl runout it shows an excellent low noise floor. I am sure it could be bettered... but I guess if it were an issue some apparent rumble would be evident but I truly can not hear much at this time.

A man's got to know his limitations... (Clint Eastwood in what movie?) and for now I think the new cartridge has really hit the sweet spot. Bundling up and shipping a what seems to be (mostly) working  TT to face the hazard and liability of the FedEx  monkeys (forgive me if you work for FedEx- I ship $$$K with them a year so have a subjective opinion) is more risk than it seems to benefit for the moment.

Plus I'm inherently lazy, so there's that...

Cheers,

RW

Here ya go! Magnum Force!

(1) A man’s got to know his limitations (HD) - Bing video

rw,

1. I wouldn't install a new cartridge in an arm I knew was not positioned correctly.  That will make installation alignment difficult if not impossible.  So you will not experience the potential of the new cartridge.

2.  I've owned a couple of SOTAs and they can be very good tables.  But as others mentioned they do require maintenance (more than just bearing oil).  As I remember, the MDC-800 was a decent arm so probably doesn't need to be replaced, once installed correctly, so long as it is not damaged.

3.  I prefer the stability of speed in a decent DD table, such as the new Technics.  So my choice would be to buy that.  And there should be a buyer for the SOTA, particularly someone who can upgrade it themselves for a reasonable cost.

The new AT art9 solved issues with the tonearm placement , so that was a good thing.

The MDC-800 arm I quite like. Simple, straightforward to adjust and stays there without fiddling. Seems to work well.

I have considered trying a Technics 1200g table, but am unsure if it would be more than a sideways move, as at the moment the SOTA is functioning well (within the limits described earlier) 

I have thought to bring the Technics in and see how it pans out. Then go from there. Truth is it may not be an upgrade at all. Thoughts?

I have a 1984 model.
I put a new Garrott Bros p77i on it a year ago, and it sings pretty sweetly.

IMO - Either move it and the LPs on, or consider an upgrade.

I got a whole box of parts from Wisconsin… new tone arm, new board to put it on, etc.
It is a bit of money just in the TT, and the arm and cart add more.
If you change the phono stage then it just adds even more.

Sort of depends on the enjoyment you get from it, so either at least add a cart. Fix it up, or dispose of it.

The cart alone was, in retrospect, a great value and may be all you need to get most of the way to enjoyment. But it still needs set up.

Which arm is on there? And what is the spindle distance?
I may have an extra arm board.