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Experience with rewiring SME arm?

Can anyone share their experience?

I did some online search last week, there seems to be many supporters of the Kondo silver wire. From what I can tell, this will provide more details in the sound. And that is what I would like to do. I was only able to find one outfit in U.K. that would install this wire - Audio Origami. But they are hesitant to recommend this cable. They mentioned that since this wire is only coated with some varnish, it would rub against the inside of the armtube and eventaully cause some issues. He's had to fix many tubes that used this wire. They suggest to go with the Cardas 33ga OFC wire.

I found many posts indicating that SME would install this wire upon request. I contacted SME, and they told me that they use a silver litz wire, but not Kondo, and the person would not tell me what they are using.

I found several other outfits that would install the Cardas wire, the prices are all over the map, and each does something different.

- Audio Origami just replaces the wire inside existing arm tube. (Still need to use leads and phono cables.)
- BritAudio (www.britaudio.com), also in UK, offers two versions. One version would remove the existing connector near the cartridge, instead extending the internal wire to connect directly to the cartridge. The other version would also remove the DIN connector, and provide RCA connectors to connect the cartridge to the phonestage with one uninterrupted cable.
- SME Tonearms (www.smetonearms.com), up in Canada, offers a straight wire from the cartridge connector to the phonostage, but do provide a set of the leads made of the same Cardas wires.

Anyone with experience with any of these outfits? Any other recommendations? Any thoughts between the Kondo Silver vs. the Cardas copper? Any other options out there? I had tried the Cardas Golden Reference phono cable before, and thought it was too soft for my taste. Currently using Graham IC-70, and it has more detail and top end which suits my taste better. So I am hesitant to go with the Cardas copper wire.

FrankC
gundam91
7 responses Add your response
semi
649 posts
 
I will be interested in the info as well.

Rega is a very popular rewire candidate, SME also makes lower end arms like 309 which should be a good candidate for rewiring. If SME IV or V can benefit from a better internal wire and get rid off DIN to RCA wire while at it, I would think it's a worthwhile upgrade as well.
clabe
101 posts
 
Hi!
I found Magnan cable, same as in SME IV.Vi, being the best in my SME V.
I use MC-cartridge so I can´t tell for others.
Had the arm rewired at SME with latest silver version, didn´t like it.
Magnan I found well balanced over whole spektra and no fatigue in listening.
If you have to do it yourself, bevare.
Cable is thin like hair and can easily break if not carefull. It´s a hassle to get it through arm, it will bend and twist easily. I had to pull it through a thin tube of silicion and then pull tube through arm.
Then I made shure there was enough of cable sticking out of tube at headshell, at the same time holding cable with your fingers and pulling tube carefully backwards from the armbase until it was free from the cable. Voila!
Now the next tricky bit was to get rid of insulating layer from the 5 leads at soldering ends. You have to use a very fine emery cloth an rub carefully, propably easier if you use magnifying glass as well. You will have difficulty if you try burn layer of with soldering iron.

Sounds interesting, good luck!

If not, you can always send arm to one of the specialists together with your cable.
scousepasty
106 posts
 
Couple of guys in the UK you may want to contact;
Kevin at shout@definitiveaudio.co.uk who does Kondo rewires and Graham at graham@southwestanalogue.fsnet.co.uk who does silver arm wiring, both for SME's.
teatime66's avatar
teatime66
3 posts
 
Britaudio is based in Raleigh NC, not UK. I would be more than happy to rewire your arm, drop me an email. Screen name is teatime66.
genghis6400
6 posts
 
hi i was wondering if you could tell me a bit more of your experience rewiring the sme v tonearm. I'm thinking of rewiring my sme iv.vi and would appreciate any advise you could offer or cautions to beware of. basically i'm asking for an instructional guide.
nilsvalla
9 posts
 
hello frank c.
if its the sme-v we are talking about, then vandenhul mcs 300 will do. you strip the arm from its inside stof and yuse a 0,75m mcs300 wire in one pice from your cartridge to your riaa, and it will get no better (sory my bad English).
happy new-year nils valla dk.
harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
My SME III rewired with pure silver Van del Hul MCS-300 by a professional in 1992. Uninterrupted wiring from headshell to preamp input. This simple yet demanding tweak takes the already fine, especially in mids & highs, performance of this vintage classic SME to much higher level ;) Terrific "update".
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