Sota Cosmos

I had a SOTA Star III that I absolutely loved. I had it upgraded to Nova V spec around 8 years ago, right before the "big" series VI upgrades release, which was a bummer for me to miss out on. I would’ve appreciated a heads-up from SOTA but whatever. 

The original III vacuum lip never made a proper seal, and I had to cut it off. So it’s really nice to have a new & working vacuum clamping platter from the V upgrade. HOWEVER beyond that, I don’t think it sounds any better post-upgrade - which included a complete rebuild with all new parts, besides the outer chassis (beautiful Koa wood I would never give up). I didn’t have any problem with the III’s speed stability (it was good). The V is still absolutely a fantastic table I love, but frankly I should’ve saved the $4K - terrible investment, being frank. 

Last year I bought a minty used Cosmos IV (here on Audiogon classifieds) for $3400 that had been recently repaired and partially upgraded at the factory, with the new Condor motor & PSU (partial eclipse). FABULOUS table; love it even better than the Nova V, and it competes with my $30K Clearaudio Master Innovation - though unfortunately it’s dressed in the ugliest orange-y walnut I’ve ever seen. I feel that Cosmos’s more substantial & rigid sub-chassis makes a very positive difference (it crucially lowers the suspension’s resonant frequency). The Condor thing is fine, but its cheap tiny rubber buttons are very annoying to use, and far less satisfying than the old on-plinth push buttons (which were great). I HATE that you click once to toggle speed between 45 / 33 (I almost never need 45), but have to click-hold for 3 seconds to switch off (which often instead registers as 1-click and switches to 45) - who the f**K designs this shit? Anyways, on new decks and more complete upgrades I think you get the controls built into the plinth again, which is better - but it’s those ugly ubiquitous (chinese?) silver "coin" buttons instead of the old clean looking black push buttons. 

Unfortunately SOTA’s prices have gone up a lot with intro of new tech (cool as it is), so IMO the value proposition is finding deals like that Cosmos I snagged. $3400 for that versus $4K+ for the III -> Nova V upgrade? What the hell was I thinking!

TLDR; your Cosmos should be great as-is, assuming all is in proper working order. I would selectively repair/replace parts only as needed, though you may also consider the new Eclipse motor & speed controller since it is very good tech (my UI gripes aside). 

@mulveling Would  you elaborate a bit more on the Nova without the Condor vs the Cosmos with the condor? Is the Cosmos equipped with magnetic bearing and the new bracing? 

Also might you comment a bit more on the Cosmos vs Clearaudio Master Innovation?

Thanks!

Mulveling, 

Thanks for the honest insight of your experience. You have a lot of turntable knowledge and your opinions seem to mirror some of my own ( I too, hate those Chinese metal buttons, even Pass Labs uses them) 

I bought the Cosmos with a SME V for $1000, which I thought was a good deal. I really bought it for the arm. I wasn’t looking for a new table but the shop I was at sold it on consignment and the owner just wanted to get rid of it. I even let them before that the price was too low and they should sell it higher.

Besides the color of the Cosmos, it’s seems to be a nicely made turntable. I checked it out at the store and set it up at my house briefly before I sold the house and moved. Everything seemed to be functioning well; it sealed the record, motor got to speed quick, the suspension seems strong; I feel this table wasn’t used much. The only thing is the pump is audible, although that could be a ground or dc issue from the house which had dubious build quality. 

The prices have gone up since the last I checked (like everything else). My edition of the Cosmos has the motor spindle below the plinth. If I upgrade to the Eclipse drive system, I believe the spindle will be higher than the original plinth, so I would have to buy a new plinth as well (which aesthetically would be a big upgrade). I wonder if I can get the mag-lev bearing upgrade by itself? I would love to upgrade the plinth to a koa or rosewood. 

I wish there was another company that offered what Phoenix offers, but selling individually for the owner to diy their table. 

Do you hear the pump in your setup? Is there anything I should look out for when I set it up again that would be different from other tables. 

I bought the Cosmos with a SME V for $1000, which I thought was a good deal. I really bought it for the arm. I wasn’t looking for a new table but the shop I was at sold it on consignment and the owner just wanted to get rid of it. I even let them before that the price was too low and they should sell it higher.

@enobenetto  That was an absolute STEAL and it would’ve been an audiophile crime to let it go. And the SME V too - wow! Well done. 

Do you hear the pump in your setup? Is there anything I should look out for when I set it up again that would be different from other tables. 

In normal operation it should be a VERY low level mechanical noise emanating from the motor unit, that is typically not any bother (certainly not to me). Either your pump could be failing OR its suspension has failed. The actual pump should be internally suspended by 4 little springs. When my Cosmos was shipped, one of the springs had severed and that corner of the pump (an off the shelf plastic unit) was banging against the mounting plate, which made a nasty racket in use. After opening the unit, it was easily fixed up with some pliers and E6000 cement. If the pump itself is failing you might be able to look up and source the part; I imagine it’s fairly cheap.

I wonder if I can get the mag-lev bearing upgrade by itself?

I believe they do ala carte upgrades (and trade-ins) to a point, but some of these are connected, so e.g. I think Maglev bearing entails the whole platter as well, and maybe other stuff too. They’ve been pretty good to work with in my experience, but the new tech & materials is not cheap. Give them a call. If you don’t have factory packing you’ll definitely want to buy that first before shipping off to them. There’s a procedure for bolting the subchassis to a plate and separating & securing the bearing. The Maglev gets great reviews but their old sapphire plate was really good imo, assuming it’s not cracked / abused. 

@mulveling Would  you elaborate a bit more on the Nova without the Condor vs the Cosmos with the condor? Is the Cosmos equipped with magnetic bearing and the new bracing? 

Also might you comment a bit more on the Cosmos vs Clearaudio Master Innovation?

@ledoux1238  They’re all great tables and once you use the same arm & same cart (and phono stage) across all three, frankly the differences are rather subtle to me. The Clearaudio is the "cleanest" and most articulate sound, for what it’s worth. Its main bearing is practically noiseless. But its isolation demands are far, far greater than for SOTA. I have it on a CMS Maxxum rack. Its bearing is very reactive in the subsonic range, and you will see massive woofer flapping if you don’t get this right (very bad for woofers). The matching "Everest" stand is not a good choice - its narrow & tall form factor betrays the superior rigidity you’d expect from its over-the-top exotic build. In fact my old dealer resorted to setting the Everest stand atop a Maxxum amp stand to cut down the rocking issues on their floor!

The SOTAs are a little warmer sounding, a bit more bloom & blurring in their rendering, but extremely musical with amazing boogie factor and PRaT etc. Superb for rock & pop. The Cosmos has better self-isolation than Nova because of its massive subchassis - the Nova V is just MDF. Cosmos is just a bit better sounding overall. Mine is basically a Comos IV with vacuum, plus Condor PSU & motor upgrade. No Maglev. No other upgrades. The Clearaudio has its own Maglev tech (CMB) and boy does that get you into trouble without appropriate isolation. I assume the SOTA has no problem here because of its proper suspension isolation.

The mag bearing can be purchased by itself. You unbolt the bearing housing and send them the whole unit, with platter in. 

The reality is you bought the arm for $1500 to $2000 less then current market value for an earlier generation SME V. The table was free. I would either trade it in for one of their tables you like, or run it as is if the sapphire bearing plate is in good shape. If it has been cracked, then replace it with the mag lev option. It is going to be a fine sounding table as is, just fix anything that needs maintenance. 

I own a Cosmos Total Eclipse, and it is a fine table. I first put a SME V on it, but to be honest, I was never a fan. I ended up with an Origin Live Agile, and it is my reference table.