Thoughts on moving from a 1200G to Sota Saphire or above

Somebody mentioned Glanz, engaging @chakster 's glands!

FWIW, yeah, I'd say my Sota Nova/Audiomods V/Dynavector XX2mk2 have a blacker background than my previous Technics SP10mk2/EPA250/numerous carts. Cheers,

I agree that Sapphire w/vacuum & SME V would be a safe bet. I'd love a Kuzma 4Point9 on mine, there's a different thread for that topic. Cheers,

Spencer

@bfoura, 
Use a resonance calculator to be sure, but I think you're safe there.

IMHO, you've hit the sweet spot in the Ortofon line for high performance relative to cost vs their super carts. A little bit of conjecture but I would argue a cart change would require either a strong desire to an extreme flavor (e.g. a warm Koetsu) or a big price jump to a best in class contender to justify the cart change vs the arm or table. IOW, don't spend $3K to go sideways. Cheers,
Spencer

Perhaps, @lewm , but while we don't want to go down the headshell stability rabbithole here, I'd argue IF integrated headshells are generally equal or better than removable, it comes down to whether or not someone's personal best investment is in multiple carts or just one better one. If you have many mono LPs, and want to swap regularly a mono cart and a stereo cart...that makes sense.  But many of us would benefit more getting the best cart we can and using it all the time.
Personally, I've had some fun doing quick swap shootouts with friends for sh*ts & giggles, but that's generally all it amounted to for me. Different horses...Cheers,
Spencer

@bfoura, 
Similar to Timestep, KAB is a USA-based company who've generated quite a following with their SL1200 upgrades. Their are many threads here and on other forums with 1200 owners trading tips & experiences regarding which upgrades were most impactful. This wave of excitement kind of died down when the G was introduced, as I believe a number of the enhancements were accounted for by Technics in the new build. I'm sure others with recent research on this can chime in. Cheers,
Spencer

Tough question comparing the arms! The SME has been considered close to world class for many years. The Technics arm is new and sold only with that table, I think. We know from the EPA series that Technics can build a great arm when they decide to.

The Eclipse upgrade would be an option on the Sota. I love having the digital readout tach. Strobes on Technics have a limited life too. PITA to replace the lamp, at least for me it was on SP10mk2.  Cheers,
Spencer