I need advice on turntable offer - Sota Sapphire package

Mike,

I like the Cardas wire a lot, but it is not the easiest of upgrades using the Cardas for a couple of reasons. The main one is that the individual strands of wire are all enameled. This means you need a really hot soldering iron (at least 750 degrees F) or a solder pot to tin the wires before you go to attach the cartridge clips and the RCAs. The second thing is the wire loop between the end of the tonearm and the armboard: to make it flexible enough you need to strip off the rubber jacket and the ground braid, but then attach a fifth wire to the two ends of the ground braid to maintain a connection. If you're REALLY interested I can describe it in detail and take pictures, so let me know.

John

 

Good idea. Chances are good I'll want to swap carts in & out, so I think I'll probably end up doing another arm...

 

John, I think I have some clue as to what you're talking about but pictures would be very helpful! I'm definitely interested, and I'd appreciate it. What do you use for a soldering iron/solder pot? I have a very cheap iron that I know for sure isn't up to the task...

 

I have Cardas wire on my Rega arm, excellent upgrade. Why not have Sota do the re-wiring for you, it's a real PITA to do, unless of course you have a lot of patience.

 

They were going to refer me to a local dealer, and there is none in CT I guess they're doing so much business now that it's mostly their core product & nothing necessarily custom beyond that (understandable). As for patience, I think I do . I guess you only find out after taking on something like this?

Well, I'll probably look it over really closely when it gets here next week & make some decision from there...

 

Congratulations, Mike, that Sota Sapphire is a nice sounding table for a great price. I had one for about ten years (before I went to a Rega P9) and enjoyed it very much. It introduced me to high end vinyl listening and gave me no problems at all. I upgraded the wire at one point in my SME arm, but I've forgotten what it was. I used some Tip Toes that screwed into the legs and also damped the headshell with sorbothene. It sounded very good with both Grado and Benz cartridges.

 

Thanks Randy. I am considering tip-toes myself, even for my Yamaha. Excuse my ignorance, what's sorbothene and is any dampening recommended with the ET-II arm (anyone?). Is this something you discover yourself through trial & listening? My guess is yes, but will be the first to tell you I'm pretty ignorant of anything beyond stock.

 

Sorbothane is a rubbery, squishy compound that absorbs kinetic energy like vibration. Audioquest sells it as rubber feet for placement under equipment, and a turntable mat. All tweeking is done with trial and error I believe, although sites like these and audiophile magazines can provide help and encouragement. Damping on your arm may reveal hidden detail, if it was being obscured by vibration, or it may be too effective and make the sound dull.

 

Pinknik is right on. Sorbothane is sometimes useful and sometimes not. I had the standard Sota arm board and used it there as well. You just have to experiment with what sounds best with your gear. If the sound changes so it is smoother with better soundstaging and more "life-like" vocals you are hearing an improvement. Too much damping can lead to a truly duller sound which is this effect taken too far. The same principle applies to damping reflections in your listening room. For example, on the Rega P9 I found it was best if I did not use any damping at all, yet in my listening room, placing a narrow but tall sound absorbing panel between my speakers against the back wall produced an improvement as described above. Have fun tweakin!

 

It sounds like a lot of experimentation is in order - this should actually be a lot of fun. I used to listen mostly through headphones, so room issues and stray airborne vibration weren't much of a concern. I plan now just to reconnect the loose wire for a cartridge shootout between the Clearaudio, the V15V-mr and the V15Vx-mr, and make decisions from there. That Cardas wire upgrade is looking like a strong possibility. Thanks!

 

I wouldn't add any extra damping to the ET arm itself--it's already pretty mass-challenged (i.e. heavy) as it is. Adding more would reduce your choice of cartridges to partner it with.

Mike: I'm off for about five days on a business trip so can't give you more info about rewiring until the end of the week.

John K.

 

John, that's fine, and thanks. It will be a while before the table is ready and the arm gets here. Whether you want the whole thing rebuilt or just run through the diagnostic check, it's still a 4 week minimum wait. All I can say is my Yamaha best hold up until then!