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Please post link if there some established method to add rim drive to the Sota TT. That sounds like a fantastic idea. The plinth, platter, and cabinet are fantastic starting points. On older Sota TTs the wow and flutter is quite audible, and bothersome. I suspect the current models are much improved in that area, but have not heard them.I have concrete floor, which minimizes or eliminates floor bounce. I know of persons who owned older VPI HW-19 TTs (suspended and in other ways similar to Sota) and strongly felt replacing the springs with visco-elastic (AKA rubber) grommets vastly improved performance. Sota now makes and sells the Jewel, same as the Saphire w/grommets replacing the springs. The Jewel is my favorite current Sota. If I bought an older Sota, I'd purchase the Saphire and convert it to a Jewel.It may not look great, but the $6500 Merrill TT may be the world's best high end TT value.
There is no established method for converting a Sapphire. I already defeated the suspension and was about to make a new chassis as the old one was warped. This project dates back a couple of years and it seems like I took too long. Teres is out of business. Used Teres Verus motors are few and far between. The only viable rim drive motor I know of is Trans Fi and I don't know if they sell motors/controllers separately. I don't think a VPI rim drive will fit and I suspect they're overpriced with a controller. Plus, I'm not convinced of the quality with an AC motor. Here's what the insides of an old ceramic platter Sapphire look like:http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=119851.0As you get into the thread you'll see what a poor design it is. The plinth is 1/2" MDF and holds the entire weigh of the table. It flexes with the weight on the suspension. My mod took virtually all the weight off the suspension and put it on the subchassis - 4 spikes. Now all I need is a motor, but I'm not partial to belt drive so it sits unfinished. The only really nice thing about a Sota is the cabinet, dust cover, and platter /bearing is excellent, but the drive system is crap. Current models have better motors but are little improved. The thin little belt is too flexible and wow and flutter is still bothersome. Any time you have a suspension with a fixed motor, you have a problem. If the suspension is excited the belt will stretch and contract with the movement.neo
Wow, that really takes the air out of my Sota balloon. I'm glad I know now, though. The cabinets sure look great. Have no idea why I thought the plinth was aluminum. A Linn LP-12 replaced and outperformed my Sota Sapphire. Ditto Sony's marvelous PSX-8 outperformed the LP-12 by even bigger margin. Do you like the custom rim-drive TT made in GB? In the late 80s/early 90s at CES, Fanfare Magazine's then-audiophile reviewer Niel Levinson visited our room and mentioned how terrible is the Sota's wow and flutter, and how much better is the Linn's. It's funny I never noticed it till he mentioned that, then afterwards that's all I heard every record I played. All the press and awards the Sota won and it took an almost unknown author to point out the obvious. The Sota certainly sounded "big," and was impervious to acoustic breakthrough of any kind, not the case with the LP-12 if set up incorrectly, which was easy to do compared to the Sota.
Would a SME 309 tone arm be better match with Teres turntable or With Sota sapphire turntable?currently the Teres have audiomod tone arm on there now.i also have a lenco L75 sitting around ,I'm thinking about move audiomod tone arm to lenco and SME to Teres.thank youLapsan
On Halcro's vintage DD thread on Agon, speed correction timing and implications were briefly mentioned. This is a critical parameter and a large part of what distinguishes the sound of a 1200 from a L-O7D, two extremes of timing and abruptness. Timing refers to the amount of speed error necessary to induce correction. Abruptness refers to the amount of torque applied to said correction. Any thoughts?neo
We know that Lewm has had the SP10Mk3 and the Kenwood L-07D in his home system for many years and he states that "they sound subtly different".Dover I don't believe has had both turntables side by side in his home system for comparison, and is commenting from his listening experiences in other systems in other locations...and he states that..."the difference in servo design and implementation forms a significant difference in presentation, particularly in timing and coherency."Harry Weisfeld of VPI has the SP10Mk2, the Kenwood L-07D, the Denon DP-80 and Victor TT-101 in his system and declares his preference for both the Kenwood and Victor.The Victors have the lightest platters of them all and thus require less torque to overcome inertia.What conclusions you can derive from all this are elusive....but all the above sounds and smells decidedly subjective to me... Regards
Do you think he was exaggerating or making up some of that?
Halcro, how did you make out with the 101 ?
Man those arm pods are sweet. Moderator is invited to delete this if too far OT. Please recommend preferred arm board material for this TT, performance wise my all time favorite:Solid custom 1.5" plinth, aircraft grade aluminum, 32 lbsEmpire 208 classic belt drive OEM bearing, motor, brass switch, platter underside lined with DynamatSolid thick maple cabinet1" MDF bass, topside with thick Dynamat liningTotal 72 lbsCurrently only gravity secures the plinth/cabinet/bass; builder later adds fasteners to securely clamp these three structural members, said to increase performance on another identical TT.Please also recommend arm board thickness: 5mm above the plinth, thickness exceeding 5mm is countersunk. Board fastens with four screws into threaded plinth hole, one screw per corner, M6 or 1/4". Arm board dimensions 93mm x 93mm. Thanks!