More problems solved!
The Sapphire is a bit finicky about leveling, more so than my VPI was. I tweaked the leveling multiple times, and the chassis is now as level as it's going to get. I put the platter on and it fits, though there's less than .0625" between the belt and the cutout on the chassis. Because of the magnets the platter is difficult to get off, so I'm glad that's settled. Donna said the platter doesn't necessarily fit in the center of the cutout; they're working on that, actually.
After all the trouble with the platter and leveling, and some back and forth with Donna and Christian at SOTA over the last 2 weeks, today I got set to play a record. Only, no right channel (!?). Only a low-volume rumble from the right speaker. I eliminated the speakers, the preamp input/output, and the connections; switching to mono, everything was fine. After about 35 minutes of troubleshooting, it occurred to me to clean the stylus. Problem solved again! Attached is a photo of a record playing! Chris Squire's Fish out of Water is playing as I type. Will take one more once the dust cover's attached.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks
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