SOTA questions (plural)

If the P6 was available before now, I think maybe I would go for the P6. I did not care for the RP6 with the plastic subplatter and aluminum cap. Also, I did not do all of the upgrades at once. At first I just wanted the Groovetracer Reference subplatter. But the plastic platter would not fit so I bought the Rega glass platter. And I wanted a good cartridge so that warranted a better tonearm. And wanting electronic speed change led to the 24 volt motor and TT-PSU. I still do not like that Rega makes it so difficult to fit a taller cartridge. And most carts are taller than Rega's.

 

And I stole one idea from the Jewel and Sapphire. My subplatter has a sapphire thrust plate (big name for a small part) and a zirconia ball bearing. A very tiny ball bearing. Not like the massive parts on the SOTA's.

 

Not bad. We have one more page than today's big news....the Rega P6. I am surprised !

 

The whole thing including the original RP1 cost $2400. The Jewel would be $2700 without cartridge or dustcover. The Jewel is the cheapest SOTA I would consider (as an upgrade...not saying the Moonbeam and Comet are not good). Donna steered me to the Sapphire. If she thinks it is better...it must be better. Not that much difference in price.

 

That extra cost for a dustcover is really annoying. For
that kind of money, it should come with one from the factory. You too, VPI. And not some huge chunk of unattached plastic i need another room to house it in when i am using the turntable

 

Yes. I was imagining a SOTA vacuum table. Where would I put all of that stuff ? I own a 719 sq. ft. co-op apartment. It is small but paid for. I used to have a large home in Dunedin, FL. There would be room there. LOL. THE SOTA pump and power supply are in very crude shoebox things. My Rega TT-PSU is just a little component.

 

I have no interest in the vacuum feature.
None.
For much the same reasons that i do not own an aquarium. Lol

 

The SOTA vacuum unit is silent.

 

Yes. It delaminated. New one was $600.

 

Yikes !

 

SOTA? Lean? WOW, they must have changed the sound pretty dramatically from the '80s. And if it is leaner than a VPI, then wow, they have gone overboard in the other direction. But then the VPI HW-19s of the '80s were dark, dark, dark, although VERY nice in the mid bass, which gave the overall sound plenty of power.
I purchased a VPI Classic in 2014, but was dismayed at how "lean" IT sounded. You had to pair it with a cartridge with a really good tonal balance if it were not to sound 'skeletal.' The Clearaudio Stradivarius (or was it Concerto) I bought was NOT a synergistic match at all.

 

I think the original SOTA Star Sapphire (circa 1986) had resonance control down to 3 hZ, so it controlled structure-borne vibration very well. Mine still bounced around for a second or two, but never did I hear groove chatter.
"Overdamped" is similar to being in a small room (8 x 10) and yelling out loud: the echo is non-existent. Now go into the Grand Canyon and yell, and your voice will echo for several seconds. In real life, that's fine, but you don't want your equipment quivering like jello (even though you can't see it): you want all vibration "damped." Overdamped can mean that the harmonics don't shimmer outwards and upwards the way they do in nature.

 

It still confuses me as the stylus and groove are mechanically connected at playback. The added resonance or feedback seems easily possible but how do you subtract beyond what is at the stylus/groove interface ? In other words, how can a turntable make music 'uninvolving' or not 'musical' ? I believe people's opinions, I just don't understand the reasons.

 

That's a good question. Shortcomings in the recording or mastering, no doubt, figure in.

 

Do you still have the SOTA ? If not, what do you have now ?

 

Not sure how I missed this thread, but in the past I find almost no one here cares a bit about SOTA, it's a VPI-Rega crowd.

I've had a Sapphire series 2 (late 1986 build) since 2012 and have enjoyed it immensely.
I bought it used from the original owner, it came with an ET-2 mounted on it and a host of other goodies.

I played it A LOT for about five years, then decided to invest in the series V upgrades all around, rather than trade it in or buy something else.
They are a small outfit, but their tables are well built, upgradeable, and Donna seems to genuinely care.

I hope to get another couple of decades of use from it.

 

Thank you for your response. There does not seem to be much interest on any forum about SOTA which is frustrating to me. I was originally interested in the Jewel. They must be rarer than rare. I did find a back issue of Stereophile which had a test report on the Jewel. It was the April 1992 issue which is also of course, the annual recommended components issue. They rated the Jewel Class 'D', the Star and Sapphire Class 'C' and the Cosmos Class 'B'. I remember a time when SOTA was popular. As you can see, I live in Phoenix and my nearest SOTA dealer is in California or Nevada. I wonder how manufacturers expect to sell product when they have so very few dealers. VPI has more dealers. I only have to go to Scottsdale to see/hear a VPI. It makes sense that Rega would be so popular. There are two Rega dealers within blocks of my home. I agree that Donna is very nice. It just seems to the consumer that they (SOTA) really aren't interested in selling anything. I know that her husband passed away and my heart goes out to her. I did read an interview from years back where Kirk and Donna pretty much stated that (not verbatim or even close) they were interested in supporting existing customers rather than selling a lot of tables. I would love to hear as many SOTA tables as possible but how ? I am coming across as negative and I do not mean to. I understand why they are not popular. A company has to keep 'fresh' to remain popular in this once again highly competitive turntable business. And the SOTA lineup is decades old. I have not written them off. But, if I can go down the street and come home with a brand new Rega.....

 

Well, that may be slightly harsh. Donna and Kirk did save SOTA, even if their focus was more on the servicing and parts side of the business rather than cranking out and selling lots of new product. Which, btw, made total sense at the time they jumped in, in the mid-'90s IIRC.

Also, while I don't know their personal finances, I'd guess they likely didn't have a ton of money to keep SOTA going as a front-running, high-mindshare brand... that would've involved 'playing the game', i.e. buying tons of ads in the major audio mags and on the major audio sites, and then saying to said mags/sites, "Hey, better start reviewing our equipment again if you want us to keep advertising with you."

Because, of course, reviews are 'advertising by other means' essentially, since they're almost always positive to VERY positive. And because many audiophiles pay attention to 'professional' reviews (probably more than they should).

So, the Bodinets didn't have the money and/or the inclination to 'play the game'. But they did save the company, and they kept a lot of customers with existing 'tables from being hung out to dry. And if they hadn't stepped in, SOTA would be dead, yes?

If you're a SOTA fan or would-be fan, you can't grumble too much because you didn't get a perfect savior. Instead, you try to be happy because you got a savior at all. Plenty of companies just go kaput.

But, all that said, while it probably didn't make much financial sense to 'play the game' back when analog's long-term prospects didn't look so good... now, with the Analog Revival™ in full swing and looking like it may have some staying power, *now* would be a good time to start playing the game, yes.

Assuming that there's the money within SOTA to do so in a serious way. There might not be.
.

 

They need to produce an accurate alignment protractor instead of attempting to keep pivot to spindle information proprietary. Nobody wants to pack up a table and send it in to have a cartridge installed. It's nice to have an option for a table that uses Rega's good arms but not Rega's unusual alignment geometry.

 

Amen. Every annoyance is a sale for another brand. And companies do not stay in business selling nothing. That is a general observation not a prediction or wish.

 

A colleague of mine recently purchased a Sapphire with the Project 9CC tonearm and he is completely enamored with it. I believe he upgraded from a Thorens of some kind. I believe he listens primarily to classical music, if that matters. Just throwing another anecdote on the pile.

 

I didn't mean to be harsh. And your reply makes sense as usual. I am just looking at it from a consumer's standpoint. I know that I am impulsive when it comes to buying audio equipment. My recent purchases have been me going to the one of the two dealers here in Phoenix that I prefer to the extent of 'go and don't go' and seeing something that I like and bringing it home. Advertising would help I suppose. Does Rega advertise ? I have never seen a Rega ad. I think they keep it alive like VPI....new products. And Rega has 3 tables at less than $1000 USD. Not everyone can afford or can justify paying thousands for a table. I am stating the obvious but I did want to respond since you were nice enough to do so. Most of my original questions in my first post are still unanswered. I think many of us want to see the company do well and this thread went down that road. Which is fine and interesting.

 

Curiosity question: Did he buy it new ?

 

Yes he bought it new from a SOTA dealer here in Montreal.

 

Problem for me is being able to hear any SOTA. There are two dealers within blocks of my home and they do not sell VPI or SOTA. There is a VPI dealer in Scottsdale but my nearest SOTA dealer (and who knows what they have on display) are in Nevada and California. You can't sell what you don't have.