@chauncey , which Sota do you have? I believe a turntable requires two features to qualify, a suspension and vacuum clamping. The SME is a better table than the Techdas for a number of reasons. The SME uses reflex clamping which is good but not as good as vacuum. It has a fine suspension. The Techdas III and V are not fully suspended but does have vacuum clamping. A good vacuum system will perfectly flatten most records removing the pitch variations you get from warping. A full suspension isolates the turntable from the rest of the world. The Sota Cosmos Vacuum has both. It's major failing is that it is not as sexy as the other two, but it is much more user friendly. You get a really great dust cover and you can rest your hand on it without causing skipping. It's motor and control system are arguably some of the best available at any price. It's corrective mechanism is gradual not sudden making it invisible. It not only tells you what speed you have selected but also the exact speed of the plater down to a thousandth of an RPM.
The Cosmos might be plain on the outside but inside it has a 1" thick aircraft aluminum sub chassis just like an SME 30/2. The plater is machined from billet aluminum and comes off the lath in perfect balance. The bearing has a magnetic thrust mechanism which is much quieter and more durable than any other mechanical design. The tonearm board is a constrain layer boat anchor made specifically for your tonearm's weight so the suspension remains in balance. The Sota's only major problem is that there are only a limited number of 9 or 10" tonearms that will fit. The length issue is not a problem at all as the shorter arms outperform the larger ones. Arms that will fit include the 4 Point9, the Schroder CB the SME V, some of the Reeds and all of the Origin Live arms.