New Analog system. where to start?

Gumby, the Sota is NOT finicky to set up or maintain. Once you've got it dialed in, you're home free. Like anything else, there is a small amount of basic maintenance that one does have to do to it though. That is why they chose the "hanging" suspension that they did over the "shock absorber" type of spring suspensions that most other tables use. Not only is it more effective in terms of isolation, it is also a LOT lower maintenance.

As far as the Sota goes, it is the most resistant to acoustic feedback, "heavy footfalls" or high volume levels of any turntable that i have ever seen tested. It beat a Linn LP 12 in a head to head comparison by over 40 dB's in terms of isolation from shocks to the base. If you're using your TT on a suspended floor, have speakers capable of high level low frequency output or just plain listen to music loudly, this is a factor that you CAN'T overlook. That is, unless you've taken the time to actually set up a dedicated TT platform of some type. Even then, the Sota is still MILES ahead in terms of its' own natural isolation.

As to your cartridge testing from table to table, this would require a LOT of time and work to do correctly. Each cartridge would require being optimized for VTA, tracking force, anti-skate, etc... from arm to arm. You would have to re-adjust this every time you changed cartridges and / or headshells. If you tell me that you did all of that each time, then i'd put some creedence to your test results. Otherwise, i would not consider the results worth much of anything other than personal preference in less than optimum installations. Sean

PS... I'm not saying that the Sota is the ultimate table by any means. I don't have near as much experience as many others here that are "diehard vinylheads". I have found that it is the only table that i and several others that i know have had good luck with. Even those that have moved on to MEGABUCK tables ( ala Rockport's, etc.. ) still have their Sota's as a "spare".

Sean: Yep. We spent most of a summer with the two.
Brought them both to the shop the SOTA came from and had them tinker as well. Weeks was weeks!
It took so long because we could NOT understand why we got the results we did. Certainly wasn't for lack of trying.
I was talking about sound, not insulation against poor floors and heavy walking.
I have to laugh about your statement about the TT platform of some type :>)
I have a 4X4 into many feet of concrete under my house with 4 feet of it sticking through my floor. :>)
I can have a line dance in my living room without issue.

Thank God for diversity.

Psychicanimal:Like the bible thumpers, taking a sentence out of context only makes you look like a....well, you finger it out. You certainly have done a good job!

You could have never worked construction...

Gumby- you've posed a good, decent, reasonable question to Psychic as others have before you. The reason he can only come up with smart-ass comments in reply (or no reply at all)is that he has little or no real basis for his "opinion" or the "facts" he presents. Typical juvenile reaction to the fear of being "found out".

I challenge Psychic to answer the question you posed to him on 5/18 ("What is it that you found "better" out of the SOTA....?") No quoting others, no repeating the sales literature or the magazine reviewers, just cogent thoughts on your actual experiences with SOTA vs P3 and your 1200 in a listening (not nightclub) environnment. Compare & contrast and support your thoughts.

Jim

Can you listen?

Of course not, but that was the Rega leaflet back in 1982-83. Green with a drawing of the arm. They claimed that specs didn't matter because when placed on paper you couldn't listen to them (hence the sarcasm).

It is very difficult to A/B several TTs. Sean just presented a miriad of parameters that have to be kept equal. Hence TT choice must be done with the help of other parameters. Jimbo, I cannot teach you how to evaluate a TT, nor common sense. If you search the posts in many forums like I did you'll come accross people who have modded their 1200s. You'll read what they've done, what they have compared it with and how they feel. That's what made me shift from belt drive to a modded 1200 in the under $1000 category. Some guy has Technics 1800 and compared it to his Oracle w/ SME arm--it's here in the archives and in Harmonic Discord. Yes he said the Oracle outperformed it. By how much? Find out for yourself.

If there's someone in this planet that loves analog and is committed to its preservation is Kevin Barrett of KAB electroacoustics (www.kabusa.com). He's so committed he developed and marketed the tonearm fluid damper for the 1200. Why? Because he thinks it's *the* best value in turntables, dollar for dollar, in the market today. Not for nightclub use, Jimbo---for transcribing recordigs. He's so convinced that he says that in order to make an upgrade worthwhile one would need to jump from a modded 1200 to a VPI with flywheel!

BTW, Kevin Varrett has also designed and marketed the most complete high end phono transription preamplifier in the market.

Jimbo, I am sorry to hear you had a 1200 and couldn't set it up properly. Perhaps you should give Kevin a call...I'm sure he can teach you a few tips. I can, too, but "you don't listen".