Sota Cosmos

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. 

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.

I will check the bearing this week to see if it's alright. Beyond the possibility of a bearing replacement, I will look over the pump because it's a little loud for my taste. 

I have other arms that I could put on it but it would require a new arm board drilled to the tonearm's specifications. Also, I believe there would have to be adjustments to the suspension depending on how heavy the arm is. 

The good thing is that the motor works well; gets up to  speed fast and maintains. The vacuum seal is strong, practically gluing the record to the platter. I haven't had an extensive listen as I sold my house soon after and packed it up. 

I think at most beyond some of the base mechanics that might need to be addressed, is I would like to repaint the plinth; its a cool material but the color is a little dated. Any suggestions on what type of place to take it to? My first guess would be an automotive place but I'm afraid that they might not be delicate enough. 

Thanks you guys for the reassurance. 

Either your pump could be failing OR its suspension has failed. The actual pump should be internally suspended by 4 little springs. 

Thanks for the insight on this, and I will check the motor of the pump and its suspension this week. I noticed that there was a hole in the bottom of the housing and the tech at SOTA told me that some of the older ones had adjustments knobs there, but were eventually not used any longer. 

I actually went to the SOTA factory last year. I drove around the entire country (and Canada) for some months and I was traveling through Wisconsin on the way to Chicago and I gave them a call. I need transport bolts for the Cosmos. They were supercool and gave me a tour of the factory. The guy who works on the tables wasn't there till I was leaving I showed him a picture of the Cosmos, but he said he needed the serial number to know what configuration and upgrades were done to it. He was cool and had a great shop. I thought the town, Delavan, was really nice (I thought the stretch between Minnesota and Chicago was gorgeous).

Lots of SOTA experience but none better than two gentleman above ^^^^^^
i do have thoughts on TT # of your soon to be thinned stable assuming you keep upgrade the SOTA : what work have you done to the SP-10 especially electronics,

arm, plinth and especially isolating it ????  DD drive and impact might be useful sonic foil to the SOTA and give you much more arm choices