Sota Sapphire/Jewel
A turntable must address and resolve all of the issues that affect ultimate performance, if it is to achieve the goal of bringing you closest to the musical experience. The basic goal of achieving maximum information retrieval in turntable performance is one of controlling microscopic vibrations - a task that requires the utmost in engineering precision and comprehensive design.
The design objectives of Dynamic Stability (the control of forces present in a dynamic system), Environmental Isolation (the control of forces from "outside" the turntable’s world), Easy Set-up (guaranteed results in all situations), Control Over Vinyl Resonance and Variations, (which would otherwise undermine the performance of even the best turntables) and Control Over Power Line Impurities (which are present in all installations and result in sonic anomalies if not controlled), are all addressed in the design of the SOTA line of precision turntables.
Both the SERIES V SAPPHIRE™ and the SERIES V JEWEL™share almost all the same design objectives. The main difference lies in the suspension. The SAPPHIRE™ features the traditional four-point spring suspension. The JEWEL™ features the four-point elastic suspension. This visco elastic suspension is similar to our top-of-the-line MILLENNIA™ model. The new JEWEL™ now comes with our precision S202 tonearm mounted on our wood armboard. This newly designed tonearm features a one-piece, tapered arm tube design of near frictionless vertical and horizontal movement. A new SERIES V SAPPHIRE™ would also include our I-Clamp record clamp. The I-Clamping device is available as an optional accessory for not only the JEWEL™, but many other model turntables. The SAPPHIRE™ and JEWEL'S™ shared design objectives include:
• FLOATING SEISMIC PLATFORM™ SUSPENSION WITH 22LB. BALANCED SUB-CHASSIS HUNG FROM FOUR-POINT SPRING SUSPENSION SYSTEM (SAPPHIRE) OR FOUR-POINT VISCO-ELASTIC (JEWEL)
• INTERNALLY DAMPENED, MULTI-LAYERED 14LB. PLATTER, INVERTED BEARING DESIGN WITH SAPPHIRE THRUST PLATE AND CHROME STEEL BEARING
• VINYL FORMAT PLATTER MAT
• "BOLT-THROUGH", MULTI-LAYER ARMBOARD BLOCK MOUNTING • ULTRA-REGULATED, HIGH-SPEED POWER SUPPLY FOR MOTOR SYSTEM
• HIGH-EFFICIENCY A/C MOTOR WITH DOUBLE-REGULATED, SYNTHESIZED SINE-WAVE DRIVE AND BALANCED PULLEY
• ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL AND SPEED CHANGE
• INTERCHANGEABLE TONEARM CAPABILITY WITH WOOD ARMBOARD
• OPTIONAL TENSION-HINGED CLEAR DUST COVER • OPTIONAL STANDARD WOOD FINISHES
• TWO YEAR PARTS AND LABOR WARRANTY
TECHNICAL DATA & SPECIFICATIONS RUMBLE Less than -60db unweighted (10cm/sec @ 1000Hz) WOW & FLUTTER Less than .04% RMS SUSPENSION Tuned four-point sub-chassis, stretched-spring 2.55 Hz frequency (SAPPHIRE™); elastic (JEWEL™) PLATTER Individually balanced 14 lb one-piece cast platter with internal damping, lead
flywheel ring. SHAFT Hardened steel, hand matched to sintered bronze sleeves MOTOR High-efficiency A/C motor with double-regulated, synthesized sine-wave drive and balanced pulley. BEARING Polished sapphire thrust disc with zirconium bearing and self-lubricating bushings TRANSMISSION Belt driven SPEEDS 33-1/3 and 45 RPM, electronically switchable with fine tuning WEIGHT 44 lb (20 kg) turntable DIMENSIONS 7-1/2" H (to top of dust cover), 20-1/4" W, 16-1/2" D
