[jtwrace]

I put a Stillpoints hard hat (aluminum hard coat mini inverse riser) on a 1/4-20 threaded stud in place of each foot, then screwed a Stillpoints cone onto each VPI foot and sat the hard hat atop the ceramic ball of the Stillpoints cone. Much more effective isolation and superior resonance control.

Can you post a pic of this?

[curbfeeler]

Not sure how to put a picture in my response.
Here's a link to a pic on Facebook. You can't see the hard hat, but the cone is shown atop the VPI foot.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/383571_10150792604384846_690834845_9385804_1260305341_n.jpg
There's a better picture, closer, in my Gallery.

[TomS]

Not sure how to put a picture in my response.

Easiest thing is to upload it to your gallery. Click the image button and it will give you choices.

[curbfeeler]

See edited response above and my Gallery.

[neobop]

I saw this thread about Sota and thought you might find it interesting.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1337171641&&&/General-comments-on-SOTA

[kbuzz3]

Thats my thread as i had the same general thoughts.  Set up maintence and adjustment may be factors for some but not all.  In my case without a local dealer plug n play is most important.   While i prefer a sota or vpi thr local dealer is a linn naim rega stalwart. So something to keep in mind if younare not into vta, azimath or other fiddling.     

Its a quandry for  some who may desire a high quality table set up but have no desire, skill or interest in set up or tweaking.

So i ask the board can a vpi set up at a dealer some two hours drive away survive a car ride without re adjustment.   Pretty sure the sotas can

[curbfeeler]

Its a quandry for  some who may desire a high quality table set up but have no desire, skill or interest in set up or tweaking.
So i ask the board can a vpi set up at a dealer some two hours drive away survive a car ride without re adjustment.   Pretty sure the sotas can

In the case of the Classic, surely. Remove the platter and arm during transport. At home, level the turntable at the platter using the threaded feet, place the arm on the base and plug its connector into the junction box. Voila!
Wanting a high performance turntable but eschewing setup is a bit like wanting to play the violin but loathing tuning, practice, et al. Do you suppose Heifetz left the care and tuning of his instrument to anybody but himself?

[neobop]

One improvement from my old series 3 is the motor.  That's a biggie.  Lack of speed stability was the main reason I stopped using it.  They've replaced the old 24V DC motor with an AC motor.  As I understand it, the Sapphire motor is still stationary, near the speed controls while the platter/arm moves with the suspension.  On higher up models the motor moves with the suspension.

I still don't know if the plinth (top plate) is reinforced. This is a serious issue IMO. This is a heavy table and the plinth flexes with the weight.  All those suspension bolts that have feet attached, are fastened to the underside of the plinth. Normally, during play the suspension doesn't move much so .....  I still think the different design philosophies are distinct and it's basically damping vs dissipation, or MDF/lead vs steel/acrylic.  On another level the Sotas are more elegant looking and looks count.  From what I've read, the Classic is about as plug n play as it gets. Whatever you choose, if you're interested in performance I suggest learning how to mount and align a cart.  It seems harder than it really is. You won't be dependant on a dealer if you want to try another cart or alignment. 

[kbuzz3]

In the case of the Classic, surely. Remove the platter and arm during transport. At home, level the turntable at the platter using the threaded feet, place the arm on the base and plug its connector into the junction box. Voila!
Wanting a high performance turntable but eschewing setup is a bit like wanting to play the violin but loathing tuning, practice, et al. Do you suppose Heifetz left the care and tuning of his instrument to anybody but himself?

Respectfully.  The analOgy is more akin to buying a sports car having a mechanic close by.  If you want to get under the hood on your front lawn then great more power tO you.  I'd rather support a brick and mortar dealer and leave skilled work for the skilled

This analogy could be applied to many things with moving  paPrts. Should you only buy a fine watch if you can open the case and perform adjustments

Or some consider Rolex to be a fine instrument. Agree or not the selling point is that for Rolex and its case it's tweak free. And for many modEls do not require service for years. So in over words You should be able to buy a reasO a ly reliable high performance table and expect to use it with out specialized knowledge

[analognut]

Hi guys. I haven't been around in quite a while, but upon reading this thread today I just have to put in my 2 cents worth for Sota, in particular the Star Sapphire vacuum hold-down table. If you are in a hurry, skip to the last six paragraphs.

My Star Sapphire came equipped with an SME V arm. I've had this setup for about 3 years now. I was very fortunate to acquire the table used from a hi-fi dealer for only $2500. I had been reminded by a friend when I went to look at it that the deal was a steal if the arm was in good shape. Never mind the table! The arm appeared in perfect condition. Balancing it to zero weight and then gently tapping  up, down, and sideways revealed no points where it was hanging up. The table looked perfect, with its old smoked acrylic dust cover and beautiful Koa wood veneered plinth. The sound of this unit in the store was terrible, and I snatched it up in a heartbeat. For some reason unknown to me the owner gave me $400 for my old Pro-ject 2.9 Wood TT. Maybe he couldn't see that it was completely worn out? So for $2100 I've got the arm, the table, and a MC cart that I can't really recall the name of any longer, maybe because I never used it and no longer have it, or because I'm getting old, or both.

With the unit at home I installed one of my low-output MC carts on the arm, tightened up the screws in the armboard and made sure everything else was snug as well. The table still sounded really unimpressive. To make a long story shorter I concluded that the bearing needed to be changed. This is not something a person can do at home. So I removed the platter and bearing assembly, carefully boxed it up and sent it to Sota.

For $700 they completely rebuilt the platter to the same specs as their Nova and Millenia tables, rebalanced it, installed a new sapphire inverted thrust plate, and provided me with their top-of-the-line zirconium ball bearing. Incidentally, I want to mention that Sota told me they use TufOil engine oil treatment in their bearings. This product is in the Guiness Book Of Records as being the world's most efficient lubricant.

Firing up the table was a pleasant experience this time! The music sounded really good and it got even better. I believe there was a break-in period for the bearing of several weeks, as playing a tone on a test record told my ears the sound had become more stable after this time.

OK, the real reason I posted today is to expound on the virtues of the Star Sapphire that I own, so here it is:

1-
Someone insinuated that the vacuum might not, in fact, be a great thing to have on warped records. Well, only if having every record play ABSOLUTELY FLAT is not desirable would that not be a good thing for warped records. IMO, once you have vacuum hold down you will always want it. It is, for me, a real joy to watch the table and not see the arm going up and down because the record doesn't lay flat. I have one LP which would not even play on my old table- the cart would jump right out of the groove, due to a bad warp. The Sota plays it just fine...

2-
180 gram records? Who needs 'em? My Sota table with its vacuum enabled, impedance matched 17 lb. platter has the cartridge fooled into thinking that every record it plays is a 17 lb. chunk of vinyl.

3-
Contrary to what I have seen posted and/or reviewed, the vacuum system is absolutely and completely silent. Period. And this is a system that has never been touched. Except for the platter rebuild the vacuum system is over 25 years old.

4-
Speed stability. I once saw it posted on this forum that the speed control pots Sota uses are inferior. Not so. The pots on my Sota table are more than 25 years old. I can go for months and not use the table, yet when I fire it up it runs at the same speed I had it set at. My belief is that people who complain about speed instability have temperature and/or humidity fluctuation issues.

5-
I like having a table with a dust cover that works!!! Since the platter and armboard are not bolted to the plinth but are suspended from the top using dampened springs it is possible and very desirable to play every record with the dust cover down!

6-
Looks. No ugly chrome and shiny metal on this table. It is very organic looking. I give it a 10 out of 10 for good looks!