Has anybody tried the Reed 3P?

Sonofjim,
I have exactly the same TT (Technics SP-10 MKII), arm (SME 312S and the cart. (Dynavector XV-1S), and am looking at Reed 3P as well.
I just bought a second TT- Verdier La Platine Granito, but haven't installed it yet.
I would love to hear your impression of Reed vs. SME
Thanks

Hi Sonofjim, Glad to see you at last got your Reed 3P. Coincidentaly I just got the Benz LP S but my objective was to substitute the Ruby 3 S in my Triplanar VII with the LP S. My Reed 2 A got the Miyabi Standard already as 'upgrade' from Phase Tech P 3 G.
I hate those carts changes and adjustments but because you are so happy with your 3P / LP S combo I will try both combinations. For those who are reluctant to mess with cart changes and adjustments such report as yours is a kind of encouragement.
Regards,

Both arms are well engineered. The 312 s is very easy to set up as I'm sure you know. The lack of a slotted head shell has it's downside too though especially if you want to use a Mint tractor which has to be cartridge specific. The lack of VTA on the fly adjustment is also a slight knock on the SME. It's performance with the PC-1 Supreme is hard to fault but it is one of the arms that had trouble with the LP-s. To be fair, I didn't add the accessory counter weight which would have allowed the counter weight assembly to be moved closer to the pivot and may have stabilized things. I knew the Reed was on the way so waited for it.

The Reed certainly wins the beauty contest.(I do like the more industrial finish of the SME too though). It handles the LP-s right out of the box. In addition to VTA on the fly, azimuth on the fly( which I haven't messed with yet) makes tweaking much easier. I'm still getting this arm dialed in but it's on par with the SME already.

The "new toy" factor is in effect currently but if I could only keep one arm it would be the 3P. I'm fortunate to have them both though and don't foresee parting with either one.

Hi Maril 555, Coincidentaly I also own the SP 10, mkII and installed one of my FR-64S on the TT. I use this combo as my second system in order to test all those carts that I still buy on ebay. The removable headshell as Henry pointed out is the pre-condition for such adventures. I also use 6 different headshells by which one can regulate the eff. mass of the arm. This way I can 'mess' with whatever carts and their compliance. Fantastic! Thanks Henry!

Dear Nikola,
I am so convinced by the advantages and flexibility of removable headshells......that only the Copperhead (out if my six tonearms)......does not have this feature.
I notice that the new DaVinci Vertu tonearm now features a removable headshell thanks to Thuchan I believe?