Tonearms and Turntables

SME; the home of arguably the finest precision gramophone pick-up arms and turntables in the world.
To own an SME product is to possess a jewel of near perfection in both performance and construction...  

SME has over 60 years experience in high quality precision engineering.   The Company's plant at Steyning is probably the largest and best equipped for the manufacture of precision pick-up arms and turntables in the World. Buying a SME Turntable is a lifetimes investment.  SME will service it forever.  Fads come and go, SME are rock solid, it may be expensive, but you only need buy once.  As our MD's Grandmother used to say "quality is cheap"  we think she meant you only buy once and live happily ever after!

We know more about SME than a lot of others, and all of SME's options are available to all our customers.  We can order specials, just ask us?  Why buy from us? well this page has the best description of SME products, links to most reviews and Our guide prices, all in one place.  Sound Hi Fi are SME experts.  We can deliver by hand to your home, a completely set up working SME system of your choice.
 

M2 Tone arm

We often wonder why people spend so much time and money modifying other arms, when for the same "end price" you can get the real McCoy!!

The Series M2 embraces three models the M2-9, M2-10 and M2-12 offering pivot-stylus dimensions covering virtually all turntable requirements.

These arms offer at reasonable cost, meticulous build quality with all the most important features including lightweight stainless steel tonearm, detachable magnesium headshell with azimuth adjustment, tungsten balance weight, superb quality ball race bearings etc., and a level of stiffness and rigidity to suit all types of cartridge.

These precision pick-up arms embody well tried SME principles and are suited to a broad range of cartridges including those of medium and low compliance.

Series M2-9 is the standard arm having a pivot-stylus dimension of 233.2 mm (9.18”) and will therefore be the one most frequently used. Typical effective mass 9.5 grams.

Series M2-10 is identical except that the pivot-stylus dimension is 239.3 mm (9.42”) a difference that suits the layout of some decks. Typical effective mass 9.6 grams.

Series M2-12 has a pivot-stylus dimension of 308.8 mm (12.16”). Distortion caused by lateral tracking error is at least 25% less than possible with a nine inch arm. However effective mass will be typically 12.0 grams. Also, a turntable designed for 12-inch arms must be selected.

Both the SME M2-9R and SME M2-12R are S shaped with the classic SME headshell connector.  These really are lovely !

The internally damped tonearm of highly polished stainless steel provides sparkling uncoloured reproduction. A unique single element balance system caters for cartridges weighing 5 to 12 grams. After balancing tracking force is applied by forward movement of the weight ensuring the lowest system inertia. The weight moves on a precision screw thread with backlash eliminator allowing exact setting of vertical tracking force.  The M2 shell is pressure die-cast in magnesium for lightness and rigidity.  A collet of ingenious design affords ‘one-piece’ rigidity and allows azimuth correction to be made before final tightening.

A fluid damper FD-M2 is an optional accessory. The normal slow passage of the arm across the record is unaffected but influences which would tend to produce over-rapid motion are resisted by the flow characteristic of the fluid. It’s use is recommended with very low compliance cartridges or where there is a problem with external vibration such as a springing floor.

• 1.0 gram per revolution tungsten weight sub-graduated 0.25  moving on a precision screw with backlash eliminator
• 1220mm (48”) D501 balanced audio lead.
• Engineered in the best camera quality with satin chrome finish
• Fluid damped lift/lower control
• Geometry optimised for Ø300mm (12”) LPs
• Low friction, fully shielded races for both axes
• Phono plugs and other contacts heavily gold plated
• Pressure die-cast magnesium headshell with unique collet
• Sliding base for tracking adjustment
• Thin-walled stainless steel tonearm with internal damping
• Thumbwheel height adjustment
• Traditional pattern anti-skate
• Uses industry standard RCA to RCA (phono to phono) interconnect

M2-9R Review from HiFi World (ignore the price!)
 
● We will beat any other price, just ask us!
M2-9 Our price Ask ?
M2-10 Our price Ask ?
M2-12 Our price Ask ?
M2-9R Our price Ask ?
M2-12R Our price Ask ?
Ground cable only, super flex silicon sleeve £4.96  (£5.95 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
Timestep RCA-RCA cable  including ground cable £29.17  (£35.00 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
SME Cable Ask ?
Spare headshell for above Ask ?

 

300 Tone arm

The Series 300 broadens the application of SME technology. Although the unique one-piece magnesium tone-arm is used for the Series 300 Model 309, advanced metal techniques produce a fabricated arm of exceptional stiffness for the Series 300 Model 310 and 312 arms thus allowing a choice of three arm lengths to suit all decks.

The detachable magnesium headshell has a new style coupling, providing the convenience of rapid cartridge interchange without loss of rigidity. Our designers can be justly proud of these models which offer a performance and manufacturing excellence unmatched by many more expensive models.

• Unique pressure die-cast magnesium shell detachable and interchangeable without disturbing cartridge or wiring.
• New design clamping arrangement ensures rigid junction with tone-arm.
• Internal constrained layer damps minute residual vibrations making tone-arm acoustically inert.
• Stainless steel cross shaft, ground and thread ground. Carried in massive yoke on 10mm precision ball races. Axis at record mean level to minimise warp-wow.
• Unique assembly gives high rigidity and allows bearings to be critically adjusted before tone-arm is fitted.
• Stainless steel vertical shaft, ground and thread ground, with integral 16mm diameter flange to couple shaft and yoke.
23mm diameter steel pillar, heat treated, ground & honed, two 17mm precision ball races, widely spaced to resist tilt.
• Anti-skate control operates through tension spring and filament. Dial corresponds with VTF and has positive OFF position.
• Lowering/raising control gives smooth positive action. Height of lift can be adjusted.
• Dual-lock base provides movement control with high rigidity.
• Tungsten-alloy balance weight carried on damped two-point suspension.
• Extra-low inertia design assists warp riding.
• Underslung weight housing corrects centre of gravity and provides non reflective tone-arm termination.
• Swivelling, damped output socket minimises vibration transmission in sub-chassis use.
• Reference lines on tone-arm facilitate VTA setting.
• Fine adjustment of horizontal tracking angle (HTA).
• New design alignment protractor sets HTA with great accuracy.
• Cartridge leads and internal wiring LCOFC litz.
• Balanced LCOFC audio lead with gold plated phono plugs.

Review from The Gramophone
Review from Hi Fi +

● We will beat any other price, just ask us!
309,  tapered magnesium arm tube Our price Ask ?
309 GD,  Black, gold details, Our price  Ask ?
310,  Our price Ask ?
312S, tapered magnesium arm tube, all  black, gold details, and damper kit, upgraded internal wiring,
Our price Ask ?
Timestep SME-RCA cable including ground cable a £41.63  (£49.95 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
SME Cable Ask ?
Spare headshell for above Ask ?
 

IV Tone arm

The Series IV precision pick-up arm owes much to the technology developed for the acclaimed Series V. Although presented at a lower price it retains the unique one-piece magnesium tone-arm, dual-lock base and other advanced features listed. The Series IV is a worthy relative of 'the best pick-up arm in the world' with a sonic performance reflecting the care and attention to detail underlying its design and manufacture.

• Unique one-piece pressure die-cast tone-arm utilising the advantages of magnesium, replaces conventional fabricated construction.
• Internal constrained layer damps minute residual vibration leaving the tone-arm acoustically inert.
• Fine machined cartridge platform, enamel free to avoid interface resonance.
• Stainless steel cross shaft, ground and thread ground. Carried in massive yoke on 10mm ABEC 3 ball races. Axis at record mean level to minimise warp-wow.
• Unique assembly gives high rigidity and allows bearings to be critically adjusted before tone-arm is fitted.
• Stainless steel vertical shaft, ground and thread ground, with integral 16mm diameter flange to couple shaft and yoke.
23mm diameter steel pillar, heat treated, ground & honed, carries two 17mm ABEC 7 ball races, widely spaced to resist tilt.
• Anti-skate control operates through tension spring and filarnent. Dial corresponds with VTF and has positive OFF position.
• Lowering/raising control gives smooth positive action. Height of lift can be adjusted.
• Dual-lock base provides movement control with high rigidity.
• Tungsten-alloy balance weight carried on damped two-point suspension.
• Extra-low inertia design assists warp riding.
• Under slung weight housing corrects centre of gravity and provides non-reflective tone-arm termination. Adjustment lead screw journalled in twin ball races with lever clamping.
• Swivelling damped output socket minimises vibration transmission in sub-chassis use.
• Reference lines on tone-arm facilitate VTA setting.
• Fine adjustment of horizontal tracking angle (HTA)
• New design alignment protractor sets HTA with great accuracy.

Review from The Gramophone

● We will beat any other price, just ask us!
IV,  Our price Ask ?
IV-D,  Detachable Our price Ask ?
Timestep SME-RCA cable including ground cable a £41.63  (£49.95 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
SME Cable Ask ?
Spare headshell for above Ask ?
 

V Tone arm

Regarded by many, us included, as the finest tonearm in production.  And in reality, is isn't really that expensive to buy the best, you only have to do it once!

SME engineers, recognising the potential of the latest complementary equipment, accepted the challenge to design and build a pick-up arm which unlike others in existence would make no detectable sound contribution of its own. The work took almost four years and the measure of its success is the acceptance of the Series V precision pick-up arm by technical experts and users as one of the world's truly great audio products. Series V sound has an almost startling dynamic range and neutrality enabling high levels to be enjoyed. It escapes the 'LP' sound and demonstrates that structural resonances in pick-up arms are responsible for much that makes vinyl records readily discernible from master tapes.

The functioning of a pick-up arm appears simple but is in fact very complex. All cartridges employ relative motion between armature and stator portions of a generating system to produce the signal output. Reproduction can only be true therefore when all movement representing groove modulation is made by the armature to which the stylus cantilever is attached and none by the stator represented by the cartridge body. Unless the pick-up arm holds the latter against even the minutest movement at audio frequencies the signal will be modified in some way. The result is a subtle loss of clarity, dynamic range and transient attack that can make the sound from even the best system tiring to listen to.

The following notes will help a better understanding of the problems and how they were resolved in this radically new design.

In common with any mechanical device the behaviour of a pick-up arm is governed by three properties of matter that also define the laws of motion. The first property is mass which opposes any change in motion. The effective mass of an arm and cartridge resists motion least at low frequencies but increasingly as frequency rises. It is this resisting force which makes the operation of a cartridge possible. At subsonic frequencies the armature and stator move as one allowing the slow movements needed to negotiate the record surface without generating a signal. At audio frequencies however the increased resisting force causes the armature to move relative to the stator and a signal is produced. The transition point between these two conditions is important for a clean low frequency response and is established by the compliance of the cartridge and the total effective mass of the arm and cartridge body. The second property is stiffness which resists bending or flexing. It is a restoring force, proportional to position or deflection.

The third property is damping or resistance to motion. Here motion means velocity and without it there is no damping. The total equation of force acting on a pick-up arm is therefore the sum of three parts: acceleration acting on the mass, velocity acting on the internal or applied damping, and bending or deflection acting on the stiffness.


Mass and stiffness determine how much a pick-up arm will flex and vibrate and damping determines how long it will vibrate. Damping alone cannot prevent flexing or vibration, it can only lessen its effect. The stiffer the arm the less it will flex and vibrate; the more massive the less it will vibrate.

Very high tone arm mass would therefore be ideal to control the cartridge had it not to be strictly limited to preserve the required relationship of compliance and mass already referred to. Stiffness, the second part of the equation of force, must therefore be used also. Infinite stiffness would be ideal but we have to be more realistic. In a beam of given length stiffness is dependent on the material used, its cross-sectional area and in the case of a cylindrical beam increases as the cube of its diameter. Doubling the diameter will make it eight times as stiff. Although the proportions of the Series V tone-arm reflect these facts, tests showed that the required stiffness was still unattainable using conventional fabricated construction. A one-piece die-casting in magnesium alloy was therefore adopted comprising the shell, tube and balance weight cantilever. 36% lighter but only 25% less stiff than commonly used aluminium, a magnesium arm of the same mass could be as much as 25% stiffer. In addition die-casting would allow the numerous changes of section required to optimise effective mass and control standing wave effects. Finally magnesium's high self-damping factor was augmented with an internal constrained layer to damp the tubes’ high frequency resonance.

The Series V's excellent vibration analysis results owe much to the high stiffness and damping of its tone-arm, but stiffness to be of value must refer to something rigid. Tests disclosed the many points at which rigidity could be lost so all other principal parts were pressure die-cast allowing each to be tailored precisely for its purpose and utilising the high mass of zinc-based alloy to damp out vibration. Ultra-high quality 10mm and 17mm ABEC 7 radial shielded bearings were selected to provide low friction vertical and lateral movements, while holding the tone-arm motionless against front/back and torsional forces. The support afforded by these large, wide contact angle bearings, excludes the possibility of chatter and wear or damage in normal use. The horizontal axis bearings carry the tone-arm in a substantial yoke also housing a spring tracking force mechanism. The bearing axis is at record mean level to minimise warp-wow effect and the spring, a possible source of coloration, is resonance controlled. The main pillar is 23mm diameter, machined from steel, heat treated, ground and honed. It houses the vertical shaft and bearings, and carries the control bracket incorporating the anti-skate mechanism, lowering/raising control and motion damper.

The base is highly original. The pillar moves vertically between two jaws and horizontally between two slideways. Locking is effected by transverse clamp bolts, spring loaded to maintain settings when released. The design ensures extremely positive clamping maintaining the rigidity of the assembly which is then secured to the mounting surface of the deck with four cap-head screws. The weight housing is undersung to correct its centre of gravity and provide a vibrationally non-reflective termination of the tone-arm. A damped two-point suspension carries the tungsten-alloy balance weight . Its unique shape enables it to be positioned close to the fulcrum reducing inertia to minimise the effects of record warp and eccentricity.  Movement is made along mitre-ways by rotating a thumb wheel and lead screw carried in twin ball races. Only l9mm of travel is required to cover the whole balance range and a lever effects clamping in any position.

Electrical aspects received no less attention. The internal wiring is of specially developed silver litz, each conductor having five insulated strands. The damped output-socket swivels allowing it to take up its own position for installation and to minimise vibration transmission when used on a sub-chassis. The high quality linear crystal oxygen-free copper audio lead selected for its electrical and mechanical characteristics is terminated at one end with SME right-angle 5-pole DIN contra-plug and gold-plated phono plugs at the other. The magnesium tone-arm is finished in satin black enamel, other major parts in black chrome with details in bright chrome and polished stainless steel. Each unit is complete with tools, accessories, and an advanced drill jig/template and alignment system simplifying mounting and exact placing.

Structurally inert the Series V embodies every worthwhile feature in a pick-up arm. As part of a complete system working in concert with a comparable turntable and cartridge it will provide wide range transparent reproduction of vinyl L.P's, bringing the listener audibly closer to the clarity and dynamics of the original performance.

• Unique one-piece pressure die-cast tone-arm utilising the advantages of magnesium, replace conventional fabricated construction.
• Internal constrained layer damps minute residual vibration leaving the tone-arm acoustically inert.
• Fine machined cartridge platform, enamel free to avoid interface resonance.
• A Stainless steel cross shaft, ground and thread ground. Carried in massive yoke on 10mm ABEC 7 ball races. Axis at record mean level to minimise warp-wow.
• Dynamic balance graduated vertical tracking force (VTF) control applies 0-3g x 0.125g through resonance controlled spring.
• Unique assembly gives high rigidity and allows bearings to be critically adjusted before tone-arm is fitted.
• Stainless steel vertical shaft, ground and thread ground, with integral 16mm diameter flange to couple shaft and yoke.
23mm diameter steel pillar, heat treated, ground and honed, two 17mm ABEC 7 ball races, widely spaced to resist tilt.
• Anti-skate control operates through tension spring and filament. Dial corresponds with VTF and has positive OFF position.
• Lowering/raising control gives smooth positive action. Height of lift can be adjusted.
• Subsonic lateral mode fluid damper can be instantly adjusted or cancelled.
• Dual-lock base provides movement control with high rigidity.
• Tungsten-alloy balance weight carried on damped two-point suspension. Extra-low inertia design assists warp riding.
• Underslung weight housing corrects centre of gravity and provides non-reflective tone-arm termination.
• Adjustment leadscrew journalled in twin ball races with lever clamping.
• Swivelling damped output socket minimises vibration transmission in sub-chassis use.
• Fine adjustment of arm height (VTA).
• Reference lines on tone-arm facilitate VTA setting.
• Fine adjustment of horizontal tracking angle (HTA).
• New design alignment protractor sets HTA with greater accuracy.
• Advanced jig/template system guarantees correct positioning.

Review from Hi Fi News

● We will beat any other price, just ask us!
V, Our price Ask ?                  
V-D, detachable Our price Ask ?
V-P,  gold print Our price Ask ?
V-G,  gold plated Our price Ask ?
V, 12" Our price Ask ?
V, 12" Gold plated Ask ?
Timestep SME-RCA cable including ground cable a £41.63  (£49.95 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
SME Cable Ask ?
Spare headshell for above Ask ?

Model 10 Turntable & Dual Arm This entry level turntable has a lot going for it, quite simply it will out perform others of a similar price, you can have it fitted with a V arm if you desire. The SME Model 10 precision turntable is built to exacting engineering standards providing reliability and freedom from critical adjustments. Build integrity, sophisticated electronics and vibration free moving parts allow the full capabilities on any sound system to be fully explored. • The Model 10 weighs more than 15kg (33lb) but is only Ø304mm, thus meeting all the requirements of high density construction on which freedom from colouration depends. • The turntable is supported on three large polymer isolators within adjustable feet allowing quick and easy levelling. • A cruciform sub-chassis carried on three polymer loaded towers. A novel design which affords impressive isolation without float. • Fully machined extensionally damped platter, diamond turned top surface with a fine scroll finish for optimal record interface. • Large diameter reflex record clamp ensures largest possible platter/record contact. • Speed range rpm: 33 1/3 (27/40),   45 (40/50)   and 78 (60/100).  (variable) • Polished stainless steel stylus guard. • Soft dust cover to accommodate the turntable and arm, when not in use. • Dimensions: 370 x 250 x 161mm (Record clamp fitted). • Net weight with power supply: 16kg (38lb). • Substantial packing case with internal fitments: 745 x 405 x 240mm • Shipping weight: 18.25kg (55lb)

M10-DP Dual Arm SME 10 mounting plate.  For serious collectors and music lovers, a dedicated mono cartridge is now becoming almost a necessity, such is the improvement in mono playback with a correctly designed mono cartridge. Which in turn gives rise to the need for either a dual arm turntable or a second turntable and arm altogether. Fortunately, owners of the SME Model 10 precision turntable can now benefit from the former without having to splash out on the latter.

The SME Model 10 turntable is built to exacting engineering standards and Timestep’s M10-DP dual tonearm mounting plate is perfectly matched to it. The plate is manufactured from the same material and to the same thickness and profile as SME’s primary arm mounting plate, and is carefully designed not to affect the turntable suspension. Click here for more details.

Review from Hi Fi World
Review from Hi Fi Choice
Review from Hi Fi News
Review from Stereophile
Review from Tone Audio on the Dual Arm plate

● We will beat any other price, just ask us!
10, Our price Ask ?
10 B, Our price Ask ?
M10-DP Dual arm plate £166.00 (199.00 including EU value added sales tax (VAT))
 

Model 15 Turntable

Receiving its inspiration from the superb Model 10 precision turntable the Model 15 seeks to emulate the excellence of our Models 20/3/& 30/2 turntable whilst retaining the more compact footprint preferred by many of our enthusiasts.

• The Model 15 has been designed with the same attention to detail combined with simplicity of operation that has come to be expected from all SME products. Its superb performance together with laid back styling make it a glamorous addition to your sound system that will astound and amaze listeners for many years to come.
• The model 15 sub-chassis is suspended on thirty purpose moulded 'O' rings and weighs, together with the platter, more than 11.0Kgs (24 Ib), thereby meeting the requirement of high density construction on which freedom from colouration depend.
• Suspension is adjustable through trimming screws in each column and is used in conjunction with a gauge to give recommended settings or varied to suit individual requirements.
• The suspension is further disciplined by a central fluid damper which controls the sub-chassis motion, offers a resistive ground path for acoustic signals, eliminates overshoot and gives almost zero 'Q' recovery.
• The platter is machined from aluminium alloy and weighs over 4.6kg (10 Lb). It is extensionally damped, the top surface being diamond-turned with a fine scroll. This method of finishing upsets a myriad of tiny fibres which interface with the underside of the record.
• A substantial clamp operating on the reflex principle ensures the largest possible platter contact even appreciable record warp is present.
• The main spindle is 19mm (3/4") machined from high chrome tool steel, ground super finished and supported in a sealed housing with individually fitted sintered bronze bearings of generous proportions needed to support the platter.
• The Model 15 motor conforms to the higest standards of silent running in a turntable.
• The turntable is driven by a 3-phase, brushless outrunner inductance motor with 8-pole Neodymium magnets and 3 integrated Hall position sensors. The electronic motor controller uses a high performance microprocessor, optimised for motor control. Closed loop speed control is implemented using a proportional plus (PI) algorithm. Fine pitch speed adjustment allows increments/decrements of +/- 0.01% of the selected speed. Speed ranges: 33.3, 45 & 78 RPM.

Review from Hi Fi News

Our price Model 15  Ask ?                
Our price Model 15A with SME 309 tonearm Ask ?
 

Model 20/3 - 20/12 Turntable

This finely engineered precision turntable offers a new listening experience from your treasured vinyl and 78''s. Massive construction, extensional damping of major surfaces and lack of vibration from moving parts ensure tightly controlled detailed sound and stable stereo imaging. Equipped with the acclaimed Series V ''the best pick-up arm in the world''.

In an electro-mechanical record replay system a major problem is extraneous vibration. This will come from numerous sources including air and structure borne vibrations from loudspeakers, vibrations caused by groove modulation and those set up by stray electrical fields and mechanical imperfections in the turntable's moving parts. Addressing these problems two simple but important facts influence design. The higher the mass and stiffness of a body the less it will flex and vibrate; the duration of a vibration can be shortened by suitable damping.

Model 20/3 weighs approximately 28.6Kg (63lb), significant in relation to its size because it is density that matters. For example, the same weight of metal spread over a large enough area would be aluminium foil! The sub-chassis measures only 440mm (17 5/16”) by 350mm (13 ¾”) but weighs 11Kg (24lb). Its thickness 16mm (5/8”) resists flexing at low frequencies whilst high frequency resonance is attenuated by efficient extensional damping. The method of suspending the sub-chassis is particularly important. In conventional turntables metal springs often contribute significantly to colouration. Sometimes even their size and nature can be identified by experienced ear!

The Model 20/3''s suspension has no sonic footprint. It suspends the sub-chassis on 32 purpose moulded ''O''-rings. The method of anchorage allows the rings to be removed or replaced in a matter of moments. Vertical and lateral movements of the suspension are controlled by a large fluid damper. Sub-chassis decoupling is sufficient to prevent acoustic feedback. Beyond this a degree of coupling is considered necessary, allowing unwanted acoustic energy to be drained away, being partly converted into heat as it passes through the damping fluid before final dissipation in the mass of the base and its supporting structure.

When playing a record two sets of mirror image audio vibrations are reacted, one in the arm and the other in the platter and both will pass into the sub-chassis in the course of dissipation. The usual ''closed loop'' construction does not address the problem of their differing phase however so in the Model 20/3 the interfaces of the mounting plinth and bearing assembly with the sub-chassis have received special attention to provide individual paths of the required impedance.

The design aims of the Model 20/3 can be summarised thus: Elimination of extraneous vibration effects. Orderly control of unwanted signal vibrations. Pitch stability. Freedom from radiated fields. Freedom from critical adjustments and setting up procedures. Long term dependability. An all embracing list? Certainly one to which careful attention should remedy most turntable ills!

Dimensions: 440 x 350 x 172mm.
Packing: Substantial case.
Net weight with power supply: 31Kg (68lb)
Shipping weight approximately: 45Kg (100lb)

•Four point suspension for stability.
•Sub-chassis suspended on sixty-four strands of rubber in the form of thirty-two purpose moulded ''O'' rings.
•Trimming screws for suspension adjustment.
•Central fluid damper controls sub-chassis motion a offers resistive ground-path for acoustic signals.
•Two screws lock down the sub~chassis and seal the damper for transport.
•19mm diameter main spindle machined from high/chrome steel hardened, ground and super finished.
•Screw down record clamping system minimises record resonance.
•6.5kg machined platter with unique lsodamp face.
•Generous use of extensional damping and resistive loop construction ensure sonic neutrality.
•Adjustable ball feet with optional compliant inserts.
•Four jacking screws built into the sub-platter allow the thrust bearing to be off loaded for transit.
•Electronically commutated 3-phase, high-torque motor. Special design virtually eliminates cogging.
•Large diameter strobe disc supplied allows precise adjustment of standard speeds.
•Speed range (rpm): 33 1/3 = 27/40, 45 = 40/50 and 78 = 60/100.
•Fully shielded in-line control unit. LEDs indicate the main functions.
•Power consumption - 9 watts.
 

20/3 Review from Hi Fi News

20/12 Review from Hi Fi News (previous model)
20/12 Review from Hi Fi Choice (previous model)
20/12 Review from The Absolute Sound (previous model)
20/2 Review from Hi Fi Choice (previous model)
20/2 Review from The Absolute Sound (previous model)


20/3, Our price (less arm) Ask ?
20/3A with SME 309 arm and SME cable Ask ?
20/3A with Gold writing V arm and SME cable Our price Ask ?
20/12,  12 inch less arm Our price Ask ?
20/12A 12 inch including 312S arm Our price Ask ?

 

Model 30/2 Turntable

The best turntable and arm combination in the World, it's that simple!  If you can afford it, then you should buy it.

Height adjustable on With its many original design features the Model 30/2 is a unique turntable. There are no critical adjustments or setting up procedures. Its immaculate construction and finish stem from facilities and uncompromising quality control which have made SME a byword for engineering excellence. Judged by Germany’s AUDIO 'the best turntable of all time' the Model 30/2 can be for the fortunate owner of an analogue collection the key to lasting musical enjoyment.

SME have built pick-up arms for more than thirty-five years and the design and engineering experience gained has been applied in the Model 30/2, a precision turntable created to compliment the SME Series V regarded by many as: 'the best pick-up arm in the world'.  In common with this arm the design of the Model 30/2 takes special account of sonic considerations and with equipment of comparable quality can provide a listening experience that allows L.P. sound to be re-assessed. Detail, resolution, and neutrality are of a new order with a dynamic range that does justice to the original sound.

The laws of physics decree that the higher the mass and stiffness of a body the less it will flex and vibrate - and this is reflected throughout the Model 30/2. The sub-chassis is machined from 19mm thick aluminium alloy plate and weighs approximately 17kg while the base with its four supporting pillars adds a further 16kg. This offers the high mass and stiffness required for uncoloured reproduction further aided by efficient extensional damping of both components to reduce the amplitude and duration of their vibrational modes.

In conventional turntables metal supporting springs often contribute significantly to colouration. Sometimes even their size and nature can be identified by an experienced ear! The unique suspension system of the Model 30/2, however has no sonic footprint, it hangs the sub-chassis on ninety-six strands of rubber in the form of forty-eight purpose moulded 'O' rings. An ingenious method of anchorage allows them to be removed or replaced instantly, should this ever be necessary, even while a record is playing!

• Stable four point suspension.
• Sub-chassis suspended on eighty strands of rubber in the form of forty purpose moulded ‘O’-rings.
• Trimming screws for suspension adjustment.
• Central fluid damper controls sub-chassis motion and offers resistive ground-path for acoustic signals.
• For transport lock down screws secure the sub-chassis and seal the damper.
• 19mm diameter main spindle machined from high-chrome steel hardened, ground and super finished in a sealed oil bath.
• Reflex clamping system minimises record resonance.
• 6.5Kg (14.3lb) machined platter with unique Isodamp face.
• Generous use of extensional damping and resistive loop construction ensure sonic neutrality.
• Adjustable ball feet with optional compliant inserts.
• Four jacking screws built into the sub-platter allow the thrust bearing to be off loaded for transit.
• Driven by a 3-phase, 6 pulse, inductance motor, with 8 pole Neodymium magnets and 3 integrated Hall position sensors.
• The power supply houses an electronic controller using a high performance microcomputer, optimised for motor control. • Closed loop speed control is implemented using a pseudo sine wave commutation sequence and a proportional-plus-integral (PI) algorithm.
• New design incorporates a 4 layer surface mount technology pcb with on-board user adjustable speed variation control.
• Large diameter strobe disc supplied allows precise adjustment of standard speeds.
• Speed range rpm: 33 1/3 (27/40),   45 (40/50)   and 78 (60/100).  (variable)

Review from The Absolute Sound
Review from Stereophile

30/2 less arm, Our price Ask ?
30/2A with Gold writing V arm and SME cable, Our price Ask ?
30/12 less arm, Our price Ask ?
30/12  with Gold finish V 12 arm and SME cable  Our price Ask ?
30/12a with Gold plated V 12" arm and SME cable, Our price Ask ?
NOTE : we can have parts of the turntable Gold or chrome plated, ask for prices.

 

Parts

We have access to the whole range of SME and their parts.  Ask us if you need anything?

Photographs some text and reviews/links courtesy of SME Ltd. 230/110V conversion

Sound Hi Fi

PO Box 2001  Dartmouth Devon  TQ6 9QN  Great Britain

Telephone 01803 833366  Fax 01803 839498  e-mail sales@SoundHiFi.com