Sota/Shelter 501mkII - Tonearm Suggestions?

Thanks for the suggestions. Before the last two suggestions, the comments had leaned towards the Origin or SME. A friend cut me a sweet deal on a Sota Cosmos armboard already cut for an SME, so that swung things to the SME for me.

Last week, I picked up a used SME IV-Vi that was in good shape. I have the arm installed now, and it seems to be a good match with the Sota and Shelter 501.

It takes a couple days to really get the feel of how the arm adjustments work. I think I have it down now and have begun fine tuning.

I can already tell the arm is quiet, and pretty accurate. I like the sound already, but know I need to tweak a little more to get the best sound possible.

This arm/cartridge combo appears to have a resonance frequency of 12 hz. Ideally, this should be between 9-11hz. I used the arm dampening a slight amount to help with this.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Darrell

Without a doubt,a used Graham 2.2!!...A fabulous arm,and a steal on the used market.

good luck

the arm,it has taken my sapphire,to a new level,better than the zeta i had on there,cheers

The 309 is a great fit with the sota and works nicely with the shelter also.

Thanks for the comments so far. I appreciate the input.

Which do folks think are better, a SME 309, or an Origin Live Encounter?

My cartridge is the Shelter 501mkII, with a compliance of 9cu. It looks like I need an arm with an effective mass of 12g or more?

Thanks,
Darrell

You should consider an Origin Live Encounter.

stay away from the Rega RB300 versions as the "lower compliance" (short stiff cantilever) of the Shelter 501 will wag the Rega arms. I owned one and there is a review on the Shelter describing the problems...so keep that in mind if you want to get the best out of your cart..

easy VTA that narrows it down to more expensive arms..