What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V?

The Transfiguration Proteus is Cart' I have shown an interest in and once was tempted to purchase, but chose to help the Vendor the Cart' find a route to resolve the issue they had with it.

I regularly keep a check on the Market to see what turns up.

The owned SME IV sounds constrained to the Tonearm I am using at present and this also being a Tonearm I see no need to change, it is a keeper and has a couple of changes awaiting that will lift its performance further.

The SME IV is directly compared to a owned Audiomods Series V, and these are much of muchness, there is little to separate the presentation. 

I have a good handle on the presentation and the perception of a constrained/excess of control during a replay.

I have regularly heard the V/12 and the OL Illustrious and can perceive the same constrained presentation.

As stated previously, if not for Rega becoming so successful as a early launched Brand and maybe not having a Watertight Protection over their Product, the Four Models referred to above will most likely not have been developed.

These are inflicted by the Geometry and Design of the Rega Adopted Methodology.

As made known as well both the IV and OL were deselected by another who was going through the motions of selecting a Tonearm.

All will successfully replay recorded music, not all from my acquired experience, are able to offer a sense of real freedom/liberty, allowing not usually revealed embedded information to form in an expansive and beyond the usual detail as the basics of the presentation. When the Envelope of  note or vocal has the perception of being tangible, Tonearms of the Rega design are quite easily Superseded for a different fundamental of a design.  

I haven’t read the whole 3ad but if it hasn’t been indicated yet I would say look at the Audiomods production as well.
Several owners indicate not to use the silicone damper of the SmeV, to proceed with an internal rewiring with pure silver wiring and replace the output cable with others of better quality always in pure silver; the improvements would be evident.

As said in previous Posts, if it weren’t for the Rega Design being so successful and sought after, there would most likely not be a SME IV, V, 309, along with a host of others that poached the Rega Geometry and Design.

Sorry to contradict you but Rega with the RB300 and Sme with the V were both marketed the same year (1985/86)
Unless there was industrial espionage, no one copied from the other.

@best-groove I get it, Just Like Linn never used the Ariston Design 🤔

The RB300 was a sale item in 1983, it was receiving rave reviews in 1983/84 and selling by the Shedload, taking away sales from other Brands who did not know how to get a lookin.

The SME V Debuted as a Prototype in 1984 andwas not a sale item, it was a shot across the bow to Rega showing the Market a Up Market Rega was in the making.

The explanation for the delay of the launch, was that supply chain materials were being tested.

The general consensus is the Rega was interrogated to the point a Lawsuit was not in the making. When the legal side was no longer a concern the SME V was launched in 1985.

SME got away with it and so followed the early upgrade options for the Rega from Third Party Suppliers, which evolved into more Rega Type Arms.

I am not disputing the amount of Brands with Rega Type Arms, much Joy and Pride f Ownership has been attained.

I am a SME IV user 'no more', who was wed to this arm for many years.

Also I am a Audiomods Series Five user 'no more', but could not really differentiate the IV and Series Five.

These arms are a design that from my evaluation are able to create a perception of constraint and a excess of control on a replay.

It is the perception of this control and how it has become repellent, no longer attractive that has been the motivation for me to make the change. 

As these designs are varied across the Brands, in the methodologies to produce them with serious considerations for the methods used to upgrade, it is off interest to me why there is so much of a muchness detected across the Arm Design in use.

A friend has been doing Freelance work for a Company that is producing Tonearms to compete with the Rega Design Arms and has had a option on all arms in the line, after having use of them on their Home System, they have not adopted one of these arms in place of their other Tonearm options, of which one is the design I use now.

In my simplistic world, I associate this with the Rega Design Effect.