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Turntable upgrade from Origin Live Aurora MK2

Hi,

 

I’ve owned my OL deck for 10+ years. It served me well, but time to upgrade. The motor pod broke down twice and the replacement cost is pretty high, given that I’m thinking of just getting something else. And as much as I like the OL deck, I’ve always found the speed adjustment to be too finicky. It’s just not easy, and you do have to do it, seasonal changes affect the tension as well as slight placement differences of the motor pod.

So I’m looking at tables in the 5 to 7 range, new or used. With ease of use being primary. I’ll also use my OL Silver V tonearm, which is almost new, so decks compatible with OL tonearms is also a requirement.

i have no preference on belt vs dd, as long as the sound is lively, similar to OL decks.

 

nitewulf
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,567 posts
 

Check out SOTA.   Virtually the entire table is made in house.   They have a full, advanced  machine shop and a woodshop on site .  Really nice quality made in WI, USA.   

I just received a new Quasar and it's awesome.   It is equipped with the same Condor  motor controller as their higher level suspended  Sapphire and Nova models .   I also had them install the Roadrunner for perfect speed.  

This is my second SOTA,  I traded my 5 year old Escape in and used my Origin Live Silver IV.   

hb22's avatar
hb22
21 posts
 

Holbo mk2 air bearing turntable ; Lots of great reviews on the internet.

rsf507
2,577 posts
 

Many years ago I owned this setup.

https://www.audioasylumtrader.com/ca/listing/Turntables/FEICKERT-WOODPECKER-TURNTABLE/Table-with-TRIPLANAR-TONEARM/219759

vinylcat
54 posts
 

Plenty of good options in that price range.

Sota Sapphire VII w/optional Roadrunner tach will put you right about $7K and would be fantastic.  Sota can provide the armboard cut for your Origin Live arm.  I believe all the OL arms use the same board, so that would faciltate OL upgrades down the line, if desired.

The Nova VII (w/Eclipse & vacuum) woud be a nice step up, but you're pushing close to $9K at that point.

As mentioned, Sota has a trade-in/up policy that is very beneficial, as well.

nitewulf OP
453 posts
 

I got a good deal on an AMG Giro package with tonearm and cartridge, so I purchased that. The system is substantially better, the turntable itself is better as in it’s noiseless and easy to set the speed and forget it. 
 

The tonearm is a massive upgrade as is the cartridge. After a lot of fine tuning to get everything right, the instrumental focus and separation is much sharper, just laser cut as opposed to what I heard before was a bit muddier. Bass is better, I’m testing with the tracks I know well, Take Five has two bass notes that come in around the 20 second mark, which I heard before but didn’t really hear before. Not like this. It’s partly the mastering but also the new table + tonearm + cartridge. The bass notes just stand out so clearly!

 

Anyway, very happy for now and happy to discuss OL tables and AMG tables if anyone wants to know anything.

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