Actually, Tim, SME now makes their own 'Magnan type" ribbon for the IV.Vi. And believe it or not intenal wiring makes a real difference (if it's great stuff, of course.) When I sent my V to England for it's scheduled 15 year service appointment ;--) I asked them to remove the old copper (their standard wire at the time I bought the arm) and replace it with the van den Hul MCS 150, their very best silver Litz wire (this is even better stuff than the standard 150M? they use now.) And it made a huge difference. So did getting rid of that crappy van den Hul Silver Hybrid tonearm cable. I wonder if SME knows how much damage that terrible cable does to the reputation of their tonearm ;--)
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The damping trough IS an option if you buy the arm separately. However, I dont think the IV.Vi is sonically any different than an SME V -- it's an identical mechanism -- EXCEPT for two things: the internal wiring, and the aforementioned damping trough.
The IV.Vi was designed with MC cartridges in mind, which due to their usually low compliance, don't really require damping.
The internal wiring is actually a coated ribbon instead of the vdH 150M used in the V arm. Initially, SME used Magnan for their OEM ribbon, but now makes their own. According to SME, the ribbon does two things: offers less resistance to movement of the bearings, and less electrical resistance to the tiny signal produced by MC cartridges. This supposedly allows MC cartridges to "be all they can be".
One disadvantage, if you don't get the optional damping trough, is that you also don't get the tonearm height adjustment mechanism. SME IV and V arms are difficult enough to height adjust, so not having this feature is a real PITA, IMO ;--)
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Opus, both arms are indeed physically identical in terms of parts, materials, etc. So if you are hearing a difference, it has to be due to the internal wiring differences. And it stands to reason that the wiring should produce sonic differences, especially with the very low output MC cartriges (.3 mV +/-), otherwise, why would SME bother making this special version?
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Tim, that's right: the 501 is the crappy TA cable I don't like. Might as well just throw a blanket over your speakers and save the money!
The V has silver wire, the IV may use LC-OFC copper, but AFAIK it is in ribbon form.
New bearings, hmmmm . . . . ? To paraphrase an old Jewish punchline, "Whatsa mattah, yu didn like da bearings I already give you?"
It was sort of a happy accident, but I went from doggie doo to diamonds when I acquired (on a whim and VERY cheap) a Purist Venustas TA cable. My system and my bank balance have not been the same since ;--)
Okeh, dets all what I know! (.....famous Jewish grandmother ;--)
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Jaytea, you have a gorgeous system, I just looked at it! But God spare us MF. You can get more, and more accurate, hands-on information right here in these forums. (It's 4mm/degree BTW, not 3mm ;--) http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1140840022&read&keyw&sra&&st0As for the SME IV or V, you can't adjust SRA/VTA on the fly anyway. So basically, you HAVE to set it and forget it, which I therefore accept. HOWEVER, all the more reason to do so with the utmost accuracy -- for which you will need the adjustment screw and a set of automotive feeler guages. (The adjustment screw is removed when setup is complete, BTW) |
The stock headshell leads are the vdH Litz you mentioned. I don't like them. The wire is very good, but they're too short to loop back around the end of most MC carts. And, the garden variety clips suck. Look at the Cardas leads with spring-loaded clips -- da bomb!! |
Jay, I've got the $48 leads right now, but want to try the $116 soon because of the spring loaded clips. |
Jay -- Why don't you give Cardas a call to find out about the bulky ones, because I really like the spring clips a lot. Looks like they wouldn't break where the wire is connected, and that they'd be easy to put on and take off. But yes, they seem a bit short.
Explain that you want to use them on an SME IV w/ a Koetsu Urushi, and your concerned about clip size compatibility and wire length. It's their product, they should know what it can/can't do. AND if it's too short or bulky, ask if they'd make some up the way we want (they do sell the spring clips separately, but who wants to mess with that!)
Neil
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Jay, I just spoke to Colleen @ Cardas, and she recommends the less expensive headshell leads for a couple of reasons:
First, the clips on those fit a wider variety of pin sizes. The clips themselves are rolled tubes with slit sides and make better contact than the standard triangular folded clips, yet they are easy to attach/remove. There are two choices of clip metal: Gold and Rhodium. She recommends Rhodium as it retains its springiness better.
Second, both kinds of leads use the same kind of wire and it's 1.5" long but there's more flexible length in the standard version, as you pointed out the expensive one are kind of bulky.
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