[bogiedr]

Hello everyone!
I have a Clearaudio Redmotion with a CA Verify tonearm and a CA Maestro cartridge. I am considering buying a Sota Saphire Star table, (sounds like the vacum was added to this table as an obvious upgrade), with a Jelco tonearm and a Grado cartridge, (no idea what models on arm and cartridge, will find out next Saturday) ... I can have it for about $1250. Which rig do you think is better? If you were me, which way would you go? The Clearaudio would not be traded or sold, just moved to another system to share time with a vintage Luxman PX 100. Would you buy the Sota or pass because the Clearudio set up is better? I will apreciate your opinions!!! 

[bogiedr]

The Clearaudio tonearm is a Clearaudio Satisfy Carbon tonearm ...getting late and too much food at Easter, sorry for mispost!!

[BaMorin]

My opinion is...............None of my Grado carts like any Jelco arm I've had them on. From AR badged to Mission badged to Audioquest badged to Roksan Tabriz badged to Sumiko badged and even Jelco badged.
They always seem to shorten the soundfield (front to back) congest the middle of the sound field, and cannot play a bass note to save their soul. Linn Akito or Ittok will work much better with a Grado.

[bogiedr]

Thank you BaMorin. If I bought the table I would probably swap the Jelco for a Graham Phantom 1, maybe find an Infinity Black Widow or something like that. My dilema is I do not know what is a better table, my Clearaudio, which is a recent model, or a Sota Saphire Star that is 15 to 20 years old, although fully serviced and warrantied!! Anyone care to comment here?

[neobop]

There's no easy answer. It really depends on your taste. The Sota is a massive beast with a 14 lb (?) ceramic platter and the vacuum device. It has great depth for symphonies and such, but always sounds kind of dead to me. But this you should decide for yourself. The Sota vacuum tables have their admirers and the Sota company (Calif) will refurbish their tables for a price, and has a good reputation. BTW, the Star Sapphire was a separate model from an regular Sapphire, and was just below the Nova. When this was built I believe it was around $2K (maybe more) w/o arm.

I'm the wrong person to compare to the Clearaudio. I'm into direct drive or rim drive and I think the Clearaudio might be closer to the tables I prefer. On the other hand, you could probably put a 103 or a MC on that Jelco and get hugh sound - it might be fun. It's hard to imagine a Black Widow on a Star Sapphire. The suspension is rather bouncy and you get a lot of weight in motion. I never saw a low mass arm on one, maybe it's not a bad idea. You might make out better with something like a 707. It just seems more stable and should work better with a wider range of carts.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[bogiedr]

NeoBob you are the man!! Excellent reccomendation to go with a MC for the Jelco. I believe the Jelco is a 750. So far I have found some favorable reviews on that arm. A moving coil makes perfect sense! I am matching this to a Sansui AU 717, driving either Magnepan's 1.6QR's or Green Mountain Continuum 1.5's, obviously a vintage system flirting with the birth of real audiophiledome!!! The Clearaudio will remain with the current system, I will have the Sota join the Luxman 100 currently in the vintage system. This will be fun, thanks NeoBob!!

[BaMorin]

Yeah, slapping a Grado on that Jelco 750 would be a waste of time.......as the Grado would hate an arm that heavy......and your Maggies would let you know the first bar.  A light weight arm on a suspended deck isn't an issue as long as the suspension is tuned to the whole mass of the arm. The suspension doesn't jiggle during play unless the table is bumped. A heavy arm will jiggle as much if the table is jarred.

[Ericus Rex]

Will the Sota seller let you bring along your Clearaudio for a direct showdown?  You'll be comparing apples to oranges regarding carts but you should be able to get a good idea of which one will lead you in the right direction.  Maybe that seller would even let you mount the Maestro on the Sota for a more fair comparison?

[bogiedr]

Actually the seller is a local audio dealer who is also a good friend. I am picking up the Sota next week for an "extended audition at home". I am trying to compare the two just as a source of "how good is the Sota". The Clearaudio will continue to reside in the current audio system with the NAD C375BEE, Olive server and Von Schweikert speakers. The Sota will be joining the Sansui AU 717, and Maggies with another table, a Luxman PX 100. I am thinking I may try a moving coil, as suggested by NeoBob, on the Sota. The Sansui, having two phono stages makes it easy to have the two different cartridges. Based on my research, I have stumbled onto a great deal and a classic table! Let you know what happens in a week or so. Thanks for all the help.