HELP!! SOTA TT melt down!

robinje · « **Reply #20 on:** 6 Aug 2010, 06:09 pm »

Kirk is awesome. By the way, he's not a tech... he's the OWNER, along with Donna. They are some of the nicest and most helpful folks I've dealt with in this crazy hobby.

jsaliga · « **Reply #21 on:** 6 Aug 2010, 06:13 pm »

Bob,

SOTA will spell out all of your options. They range from trading up to a Series V deck to keeping your chassis and upgrading all the parts. Mull it all over carefully. You may want to think about keeping your existing chassis if it is made from an exotic wood. Some of the finishes they offered 20 to 25 years ago they are no longer offering. I have a vacuum platter Star Sapphire finished in Koa Wood and the grain pattern is simply gorgeous. I plan to send my table in next year for a suspension and parts upgrade...but I very much intend to keep that chassis. SOTA will even refinish it.

--Jerome

thunderbrick · « **Reply #22 on:** 6 Aug 2010, 07:40 pm »

Yeah, I was happy with only a $300 motor repair, but I AM thinking carefully about a swap. May have to sell my two sets of Sequerra ribbon tweeters and stacked DQ-10s

analognut · « **Reply #23 on:** 7 Aug 2010, 02:54 am »

Maybe I missed something. But I just gotta know cuz I also have a Sota table (Star Sapphire vacuum with upgraded platter and bearing ball) that I very much enjoy:

Thunderbrick what model of Sota do you have? If you've never had vacuum you should consider it. It's so cool to see every record laying absolutely flat and thinking it's stuck to a 17lb chunk of vinyl. I would seriously consider buying used from Sota if the moolah is tight. I think you'd get hooked pretty fast, and Sota's vacuum pump is absolutely, positively, DEAD quiet.

thunderbrick · « **Reply #24 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 03:51 am »

UPDATE: I spoke with Kirk at SOTA last week who took a lot of time to help explain my options, and promised me an email on Monday (yesterday).

Today Kirk (the owner) called and apologized profusely for not getting back to me as promised, and said he'd do his best to send it to me tomorrow.

I think I'll fix my SOTA and hang onto it for a long, long, time. I really like dealing with people like Kirk!

thunderbrick · « **Reply #25 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 03:54 am »

Quote from: analognut on 7 Aug 2010, 02:54 am

Maybe I missed something. But I just gotta know cuz I also have a Sota table (Star Sapphire vacuum with upgraded platter and bearing ball) that I very much enjoy:

Thunderbrick what model of Sota do you have? If you've never had vacuum you should consider it. It's so cool to see every record laying absolutely flat and thinking it's stuck to a 17lb chunk of vinyl. I would seriously consider buying used from Sota if the moolah is tight. I think you'd get hooked pretty fast, and Sota's vacuum pump is absolutely, positively, DEAD quiet.

I'd love to, but it will be a huge budget stretch for me to do much more than replace the motor.

robinje · « **Reply #26 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 12:44 pm »

Apparently, there will be a review of a new SOTA Sapphire (I think) coming soon in The Absolute Sound. I hope it is positive (I can't see how it couldn't be) because I think SOTA deserves some press recognition like many other smaller companies that turn out quality gear and focus on customer service.

Wayner · « **Reply #27 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 06:09 pm »

After all is said and done, replacing the motor was the right (and least expensive) thing to do, to get the old Sota up and running. Your lucky that the company still exists and has replacement parts (along with their expert knowledge), rather then some guy at a repair shop. Hopefully, you'll get a bunch more years out of it with the new motor.

Wayner