To SME or not to SME?

Diggory,

Could you describe the sonic differences between the Model 10 and 20? I've read that some feel the 20 sounds more like the 10 and others feel the 20 sounds more like the 30. And what arms/cartridges do/did you use on these tables?

Judging from the latest comments about the 20/3, it gets much closer to the 30.

The 20 digs far deeper into the detail of the music and brings out a significant amount of information compared to the 10. Bass appears lighter at first but is far, far tighter and going back to the 10 which i moved to a second system confirms this. The 10 produces more bass but has a touch of bloat compared to the 20, not a boom or anything unpleasant but noticeably different. My 20 is a 20/2 . Arms used are a SME IV arm and an Ortofon AS212S, cartridges are Ortofon Jubilee and Candenza Black and a Phase Tech P-3 Alexandrite which really needs a heavier arm.I swapped about using all permutations until i came across what was my favourite and I've ended up with the SME IV arm with the Cadenza Black on the Model 10 and the Ortofon arm and Jubilee on the Model 20. The Jubilee is still the best cartridge i've heard with my system.

Although there's clearly an SME thing going on i feel the 20/2 to be a noticeable step up from the 10. I've not heard a 20/3 or 30 so can't compare to those.

One thing of note though is that as the 10 is an unsuspended design, it is greatly affected by what it sits on so what i'm hearing might be completely different to someone else with a different support. To hear it at its best you would probably have to put it on a stand that was completely isolated from its surroundings which might end up costing far more than the cost of upgrading to the suspended designs of the 20 and 30.

I own a SME 30/2 with Basis Vector 4 arm and Dynavector XX2m2 cartridge. Previously I used the V arm with same table and cart.

The 30 is a significant step up from the 20. Comparing with the 20, the 30 has more speed, liveliness and dynamics. The 30 brings plenty of boogie which SME 10 and 20 are not known for. And the bass is articulate, deep and with plenty of details.

The best way I can describe a SME30 is a LP12 on steroids. The PRaT of an LP12 with deeper bass, bigger sounding, wider + deeper soundstage

In addition to having a different suspension system compared to the 10, the 20 and 30 have different feet. With the latter tables, one can leave in place the rubber insert pads or remove them exposing the stainless steel balls inside. If one wishes to 'ground' the table to an isolation platform - such as the Symposium Ultra - one should remove the pads. If the table is resting on sensitive furniture, the pads would best be left in place. This choice could certainly have various effects including the amount and tightness of bass and perhaps the degree of detail and 'blackness' of background.
Different strokes.......

Just ordered a SME 20/3 today. Hope it's the right move. Thanks to all the members who posted. After I get the 'table and run it in a bit, I'll post my findings for anyone who might be interested.