Sota or Technics


Hello all, first time post here. 
I am in the market for a new TT under 2k. I've narrowed it down to the Sota Comet and the Technics 1200GR.
Going to use a $300 to $500 MM cart. 
System consists of NAD533 TT (currently). NAD pre amp, Cambridge Phono pre amp, Mac 240 amp, TDL compact monitors. 
Sota i like as it uses the 330 tonearm, is built in the states, solid rep, solid support, is pleasing to the eye.
Technics I like as it's built like a tank, seems more plug and play has a good rep and looks good too. (more bells and whistles, both positive and negatives there)
Obviously they are different in some ways. Direct drive vs belt etc..
Was wondering if anyone had an opinion either way on either deck. Greatly appreciate any feedback.
Thank you
doyle3433
Sokogear, walls vibrate just as much as floors. Wall shelves are at best flimsy. Yes, you can buy isolation. A MinusK stand costs $5000.00 
A Sota Sapphire costs $3500 and along with the Nova and Cosmos make up some of the best isolated tables you can buy competing with tables costing many times as much. There are many well isolated tables to choose from coming from Thorens, SME, Avid, Oracle, Basis, TechDas, Kuzma, Dohmann and Sota. They achieve a level of clarity and stability impossible in an unsuspended table. None of them are direct drive. 
Not sure why this is. I can easily envision a suspended direct drive table with a taller platter/longer shaft distancing the motor from the cartridge.
Some day someone will make it.
@mijostyn - I disagree with you. Walls do not jump with foot falls. I have a P8 on a wall shelf on top of a Townshend seismic isolation platform. So it is pretty damn isolated. The solid steel shelf is directly screwed into 4 studs and believe me - it is not going anywhere, especially since my table weighs only 10 pounds. That's why Rega sells shelves. Mine is a Project since it accommodates my tru-lift.

That may not be quite as good as an SME (or others costing >$5K with arm) but having an RB 880 arm is excellent. I think we agree on most points though. SOTA has had some ups and downs. Rega is not going anywhere (or is Technics, VPI, and a few others). I tend to not want to get involved with a boutique turntable vendor.

If I wanted to spend some mad $$ on a $5K+ table, I would look at all your choices that are stable companies.

I'm not a DD fan, but I think it is a good concept if executed properly. Hard to separate the motor though. The devil is in the details. I heard about a new VPI DD table that is supposedly excellent, but it is up there in price and I do not like unipivot arms and I think their Fatboys that are 3D printed are crap. I guess you could put a 3rd party arm on it, but I like buying an arm and table that are designed for each other if possible. I think turntable nirvana is a top SME.


@sokogear, Get a stethoscope and listen to the wall with your system running. The Townsend platform is certainly a step in the right direction but it is not as effective as a good suspension or a MinusK platform.
If you had a Sota you could put it anywhere in the room, on a collapsible card table and it would have superior isolation to what you are doing.
I think however under the circumstances you are doing the best you can with the resources you have. So, I know you have an appreciation of what isolation means to a turntable. In the future when you feel like upgrading you have a direction to head in. I think you should consider one of the tables I mentioned above. In the mean while the P8 is a great value and it has a good arm.  
thanks @mijostyn - I beleive you - no stethoscope required. I actually spoke with Max Townshend himself (nice guy, not a real businessman though, more like a mad scientist, which is a shame, because he has some fantastic products including a turntable no longer made called the Rock, which is supposedly one of the best tables ever - he could have been a higher end Rega) when I was buying the Townshend platform and he told me ALL about the microtremors in the earth that his systems counteract. He has studied earthquakes, etc. in a real way. They are present on the floor or wall of course all the time.

Like I said though, the wall has no footfalls, which are the worst, which I was having with Max's platform because I have a suspended floor over a crawl space and those low frequencies hit at the wrong point and were additive with his platform. It sounded so much better that I was willing to deal with the foot falls, but once I decided to put in the wall shelf (and my wife didn't throw a fit) I have the vibration/isolation as optimized as possible. It sounds incredible, so I don't see myself changing it as it is the strongest part of my system. I know internal isolation within a table is the most desirable, but I would probably have to at least double my TT investment.  Law of diminishing returns....

Maybe speakers down the road. My KEF R500s are only a year old, and they replaced a 25 year old pair of Alons, so based on my previous behavior/experience my system may be set for a long time, other than cartridge maintenance (VDH MC One Special) unless the distributor makes me an offer I can't refuse when that stylus wears out and I get something else. Just got the cartridge completely replaced in August, so I'm just kicking back for a few years most likely. 

What's your system and where are you from?