recommendation for a high end analog system

To be clear, I am not necessarily pushing for the Triplanar over all the other very good tonearms also mentioned by others.  There is not a loser among them.  For me, not being able to close the cover (a potential issue with the Triplanar/SOTA combo, apparently) would be a non-issue, since the first thing I do with tt covers is to store them out of sight in my basement.  Also, I would not advocate for a SOTA without the Eclipse motor and motor control upgrade. this is based on my ~10 year experience with my Star Sapphire III.  It was only after selling it and replacing it at that time with a Nottingham Analog Hyperspace and a Walker Audio Precision Motor Controller that I came to appreciate that the SSIII suffered a bit from speed instability audible on decay of piano tones. The Eclipse option should raise the SOTA to a level of speed stability way above that of my old Hyperspace/Walker combo. Enough said.

@lewm 

Don't you have the Technics SP10 MK3? How does it compare with MK2 or 1200GAE? There is a big price differential.

It was after living with the Nottingham that I became interested in first idler-drive turntables and then direct-drive.  After purchasing both a Garrard 301 chassis and an NOS Lenco L75, and thinking for a bit, I decided to go with the Lenco, sell the Garrard as is.  I eventually ended up with a highly modified L75 in a slate plinth.  Along the way, I picked up a Denon DP80, just because I had a longstanding interest in it and the price was right.  The DP80 had a thorough going over by Bill Thalmann and is also in a slate plinth. And from there I just went on and on with vintage direct drive turntables, buying but not selling. I owned two Mk2s before acquiring the Mk3.  (I did sell both Mk2s.) Suffice to say Mk2 is good, not as good IMO as the DP80, and the Mk3 is better than all of them.  I never heard a GAE in my own system, so I can have no opinion.  I go back and forth between the Mk3 and Kenwood L07D, and I like aspects of both.  The difference is slight.  The DP80 has the Triplanar mounted with a B&O MMC1, which drives my modified Silvaweld SWH550 MM phono stage.  I love that rig from cartridge through phono stage.

@lewm , no argument from me. However it is not the duct cover that the Tri Planar in interfering with, it is the plinth cover. Because the Tri Planar drops down in the rear and that the Sota's tonearm board is recessed the counter weight runs into the cover. What people think is the plinth on the Sota is just a cover. The "plinth" is really suspended inside from the base plate. You could make the Tri Planar fit by cutting away that part of the cover that would be behind it but Sota will not do that themselves because they think that is cosmetically unacceptable. You could do it yourself. My own thinking was that the Schroder fits perfectly and is on par with the Tri Planar so why start chopping things up especially since this may not be my last turntable. I still have my eye very much on the Dohmann with a Schroder LT.

bkeske, When I was getting the "Voice" I asked Peter what the difference between the "Voice" and the Sussurro (a low output version of the "Voice") was. His reply was "larger coils in the Voice." Since the coils are fixed and there is no reduction in moving mass with smaller coils my next question was "then why is the Sussurro $2K more expensive?" He said," market economics." I also asked "then why wouldn't the "Voice" be a better cartridge having a much lower signal to noise ratio." His reply, "It is." He said that he only makes low output cartridges because they are more profitable and people want to use their fancy, expensive high gain phono stages. They are stuck on thinking low output cartridges sound better. Then I got the Strain gage pitch. Which I would like to hear. I thing the Hyperion is too expensive to make to justify a high output version. People who buy high output cartridges will not spend $7K on a cartridge.

@mijostyn

bkeske, When I was getting the "Voice" I asked Peter what the difference between the "Voice" and the Sussurro (a low output version of the "Voice") was. His reply was "larger coils in the Voice." Since the coils are fixed and there is no reduction in moving mass with smaller coils my next question was "then why is the Sussurro $2K more expensive?" He said," market economics." I also asked "then why wouldn’t the "Voice" be a better cartridge having a much lower signal to noise ratio." His reply, "It is." He said that he only makes low output cartridges because they are more profitable and people want to use their fancy, expensive high gain phono stages. They are stuck on thinking low output cartridges sound better. Then I got the Strain gage pitch. Which I would like to hear. I thing the Hyperion is too expensive to make to justify a high output version. People who buy high output cartridges will not spend $7K on a cartridge.

Yep, I’ve heard Peter say the same/similar. That’s why I think the Lo MIMC Zephyr is probably a great deal for $2K new. That is the one I keep leaning towards for a Lo cart. I’ve just heard that my Hagerman Trumpet really performs best with Lo carts, albeit it sounds great with my Zephyr. And really, that is my major interest; getting the most out of my Trumpet.

The Strain Gauge is a whole nuther  animal. I would love to hear it as well. Pretty amazing in theory really.