Hi,being from the era of penny on the headshell era, I take this guess from that mentioned discussion best.
"I was thinking this thing is more of a sophisticated ’penny on headshell’ device. I think it’s there to allow for the low mass SME to accommodate lower compliance MC carts. It seems that instead of applying mass to the headshell, this device applies pressure near the pivot. It may (I’m not sure about this) have a lesser effect on the overall effective mass - yet achieve the same result as the primitive penny solution..."
OP, please let us know what/why when you get the answer. I would add a detail photo and send both to SME, and Mitchell
btw, beautiful TT!