SME 309 or SME 3009r?
I have both arms. My turntable is an Avid Sequel. My cartridge is a Benz LP. I want to rewire one of the arms, but don't know which would sound best. I currently have the 309 on the table so I know how that one performs. I've had the 3009r for quite sometime just sitting on a shelf. It's in terrific shape and the person who gave it to me, and has since passed away, thought it would outperform the 309. Does anyone have an informed opinion? Thanks.
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Dover: The effective mass of my SME 3009II (non-improved/detachable head shell) is 12.5 grams. The effective mass of the 3009R is 12.7 grams. There were numerous versions of the SME 3000 series leading up to the "R" series. I would post a history, from memory, but I'm having computer problems (already lost 2 drafts).
DeKay |
@pesky_wabbit Maybe the SME 3009 was top tier when it came out fifty or so years ago. If the SME wasn't top tier back then, which arms were? Let's not be anachronistic! It was a high quality product for its time, and priced at the upper limit of what most people were willing to spend on an arm. What you say about the SME IV & V is really interesting. It iimplies that if one has an SME V and does not use the damping trough or the downforce gauge (or actually has them physically removed from the arm), what one ends up with is identical to a Series IV. But one perhaps needs to remember that, as the well-known former SME dealer MIk Bhavnani says (on another forum), each SME arm is an individual hand-assembled product and no two samples sound exactly alike. The Series IV and V may now use the same grade of bearings, but does the same degree of care go into the adjustment of these bearings on a Series IV as on a Series V? Are the magnesium armtubes all of equal quality, or are the better ones (after machining in the SME factory from rough castings) selected for the Series V (as I once read somewhere)? Maybe the ultimate SME arm would be a stripped-down Series V, with no damping-trough and no downforce gauge. |
pesky, I did not specifically ask for your comment on the comparison between Technics B500 and SME 3009. I too have heard only one and not the other. But "on paper" does count for something. (B500 has superior bearings, if they are intact, a more advanced VTA adjustment method, and a more sophisticated anti-skate device.) Anyway, I was wondering whether anyone had actually heard both. As to the 3009R, what about the 3009/2 or /II? Is that version different from the 3009R? Again, according only to internet reading the 3009/2 is generally thought to be superior to the base model. I wouldn't argue for a minute that there is no substitute for direct experience, but when many listeners make similar comments on a particular audio component, it begins to add up to a significant factor to be considered by anyone making a purchase. pgtaylor wrote, "each SME arm is an individual hand-assembled product and no two samples sound exactly alike." If true, that is not a virtue. |
