Looking For Technicans That Would Rewire A SME V

I owned an SME V since 1990.  I had it rewired by Alfred in 2013 and the work was satisfactory.  FWIW I did ask him to do some other work but not sure anything was done.  In 2019, prior to selling the arm I had Gregory Metz clean and adjust the arm.  This time the work was actually done.  Metz is ClassicThorens and based in TN.  I used the SME/SOTA combo for 30 years with great satisfaction although the SME was replaced by a AMG 9w2 arm which for me was much better.  Good luck on your upgrade.

I'm also thinking of having my 309 done. Keep us in the loop.

@groovey 

traded a couple of emails with Josh. Appears to be a good egg and I will speak with him in the phone on Friday. I think this will be my choice, just need to locate the tonearm wire now. The US based website does not show the silver Zavfino1877 wire available. 

@groovey  I am in the US. I will reach out to them, thanks for the recommendation. 

http://Hyendaudioservices.com

I take it you are in the UK.

I’ve got a good recommendation for New York

actually Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Hyendaudioservices.com

I inquired Steve to rewire my Mico MA-505L and I proposed the 1877 silver litz, but he declined as the material is apparently too much of a PITA to work with. I was also entertaining doing a full continuous run on the arm, but he only uses Mogami from where the DIN would be to RCA's.

Nothing wrong with Mogami of course, but was hoping he had more exotic offerings hehe.

I do wonder if Tim Corn aka AudioRanch is still willing to rewire arms

It would help if the OP was given a guestimate of the time the Tonearm was with the service doing the work.

A very expensive to replace Tonearm out in the world of the Cottage Industries can be a worrying experience, make that period extend to 12-24 weeks and the concerns will be quite high about receiving that arm back.

I had my SME 309 rewired using Nordost cable (I cannot recall which if the top of my head and I am away from home so cannot check). The work was done by Loud and Clear in Edinburgh. I would have no hesitation in recommending both Nordost and Loud and Clear.

Had mine done two years ago by Alfred at smetonearms.com using ceramic bearing and the Cardas Litz wiring. More than happy with results.

Thing about the bearings is, what may seem smooth enough to you - isn’t.

I replaced the steel BB at the bottom of my Thorens TD125 Mk2 with a ceramic bearing and Thorlon (Torlon?) plastic disc after reading about the bearings Alfred used. There’s all kinds of data online about wear and longevity but what got my attention as applied to this application is how smooth the bearing surfaces are as compared to steel. Smooth means less friction means more freedom of movement in the TA lessening forces on the cantilever/stylus. It seemed like a no brainer.

There was a slight rumble I was hearing in the Thorens TT which got better with the Torlon disc, and is inaudible once I replaced the bearing, then I bought a sapphire disc to replace the Torlon disc for good measure.

I wanted the best performance possible from the SME V/TT combo. Even got an Ortofon Verismo to hang off it.

Talk to Alfred. He’s a fund of information, been at this for many decades, and ASK him about silver or whatever your choice is. And yes, it’s a continuous run from cartridge clips to RCA jacks. He claims - IIRC - a 3 or 6 dB gain by removing contacts and using better wire than factory (mine was older than yours by several years).

doesn’t hurt to ask.

I think Steve at VAS would be willing to use any wire or connector that you prefer. He and Ray are great guys - you might want to give 'em a call.

Try this company: alfred.kayser@sympatico.ca . I purchased my SME IV from them, I know they also offer full SME rebuilds, see below.