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Worth having my SOTA Sapphire refurbished?

I own a vintage 1986, SOTA Sapphire turntable, fitted with a Linn Basik tone arm, with some sort of old, Audioquest cartridge (it has a red housing). After a lengthy remodel, I am finally getting ready to unpack my stereo system once again and get it set up. I have miles and miles of beloved vinyl. :-) My listening room is on the small side. I value transparency and imaging over sheer volume.

Associated equipment includes a PS Audio Elite Plus integrated amplifier (I think it has 70 W per channel). I recently sold my old Vandersteen 2C speakers here on Audiogon (for space reasons in the new house) and am looking to replace them with Regas or Paradigms, probably monitors (but that a whole other question)!

Anyway, the SOTA probably needs some inspecting and tuning. I think that the motor and bearing are okay, but I'm guessing that the suspension springs need adjusting or replacing; I think they're a little stretched out.

SOTA has an inspection and tune-up/repair service. Have any of you ever used it? I'd have to ship the table off to them, and, apparently, pay for return shipping as well (I do have the original box) and the table weighs around 50 pounds in the box.

By the time I do all of this and buy a new cartridge, to boot, I'm looking at quite a chunk of change. Do you think I'm better off selling the SOTA and putting the money toward, say, a new Rega P2? Please, no flames; I've been out of the active high-end scene for many years, so I have no idea how those tables compare.

Anyway, all advice appreciated.
rebbi

Showing 7 responses by rebbi

rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Oh, gosh, I ADORED those Vandersteens! Spacious, ample, precise bass response, gorgeous mid-range... I hated to part with them. But Johnnyb53 is correct. Since our remodel, my listening room is a lot smaller, and the "spousal acceptance factor" just wasn't there, especially since my listening room will double as a guest room. Visually, the Vandersteens just took over the room. So I'm looking for something in a smallish tower or monitors on stands. Hence I'm considering the Regas or something from Paradigm. I need to keep the speaker purchase under $750 the pair or so.

So, so far the consensus seems to be "tune up the SOTA," eh?

By the way, speaker recommendations welcomed, as well. ;-)
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Thanks very much to all of you for your wonderful help! I spoke with Donna today and got an RMA number. I"ll be shipping the Sapphire off to them tomorrow. Their lead time on evaluations is running 4-5 weeks at this point. Then they'll call me and let me know what their recommendations and my options are. She was extremely nice, by the way, and was very pleased when I told her about the excellent feedback about her, Kirk and the SOTA tables that I received on Audiogon.

Again, thanks to all of you!
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Again, thanks to all of your for your help with this decision. The Sapphire shipped off today... thank goodness the UPS Store had a dolly... I nearly got a hernia getting it into the store! ;-)

Now that that part's done, I'm wondering what y'all would recommend as far as a tonearm upgrade from the LInn basik that won't break the bank?
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Hi,

Believe it or not, I still haven't gotten it back, but I know it's ready to ship. SOTA offered to order and install a new cartridge for me (which I really need) and I said okay. So as soon as they receive the cart and install it and balance the arm for me, I should have it "real soon now..."
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
My table finally arrived today. I'll let you all know how it looks and sounds when I've had a chance to unpack it and set it up.
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Clio09,

Nah, I'll get back. But first I'll have to finish building my phono stage... a Bottlehead Seduction kit. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it. :-)
rebbi OP
1,319 posts
 
Luvmuzik66,

Hi!

Yes, I got my Sapphire refurbished by SOTA back in '08. Everything was fine. The only real hassle I had was that UPS broke the original dust cover in shipment to the factory, so I had to spring for a new one. (And yes, I filed a claim with UPS, but because I packed the gear myself they wouldn't cover it.)
The table has performed flawlessly since then! I have still periodically toyed with the idea of upgrading my arm but with money being rather tight I've stuck with my old Linn Basik.
By the way, they did install a new Ortofon 2M Blue at SOTA since the Audioquest cart on the arm was ancient.
So my experience was a good one, over all, other than the long time it took to get the table back. But the owners were great to deal with.
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