The large diameter of the cast beam maximises the torsional stiffness, while the strong taper to the headshell exerts a firm grip on any possible bending vibration modes.įollowing various reports obtained during prototype testing, it was decided that the counterweight be clamped tightly in position after alignment, eschewing the rubber coupling often employed to try to lower the amplitude of midband resonances. The SME designer chose to make the main beam a massive-looking affair of heavily-tapered, relatively thin-wall, magnesium alloy, cast in one piece with the substantial cartridge mounting platform, bearing assembly and the rear gantry and track for the counterweight. By doing this, a number of potential weaknesses are eliminated.
This is to remove all the usual bonds between headshell and armtube, tube and pivot assembly, assembly and counterweight. The new SME arm aims to solve a major headache in one bold stroke, one already partially addressed by Roy Gandy in his Rega RB300. The Swiss Breuer predated the lttok, but was always regarded as too costly – little would we have guessed that the ultimate SME would cost very much more! lt avoids most pitfalls, and has been the model for later designs.
The Linn lttok LVII is an early classic design which has stood the test of time.
Sme tonearm coupons series#
Poorly designed main beams, or for that matter bearing assemblies, can introduce a series of resonances from a few hundred Hertz upwards. Meanwhile, arms with decoupled counterweights can run into trouble at frequencies as low as 50Hz. Detachable headshell models generally 'sing' between 200Hz and 300Hz due to the headshell/arm joint. If realised, such an arm would be totally non-resonant, except at subsonic frequencies, and would be devoid of frequency imbalance or coloration.Īrms typically exhibit flexure in several parts of the structure, sometimes at surprisingly low frequencies. 'Pure Mass' implies that no compliance or potential for flexure exists. Rather, it believes that it has approached closer to this paradigm with the 'V' than with its previous models.
SME does not claim to have achieved this. In those two linear dimensions, an ideal arm is supposed to act as a pure mass'. That is, all except the two linear dimensions in which the music signal is generated by groove modulation.
Sme tonearm coupons manual#
To quote SME in its excellent instruction manual for the 'V': 'In theoretical terms an ideal pick-up arm is supposed to be perfectly unyielding in four out of six possible degrees of freedom. Their skill in finding a solution that remains consistent in production largely determines how well the arm will perform subjectively in the real world. Satisfying this requirement for rigidity and simultaneously allowing for the cartridge to move freely in two axes is a major problem which all arm designers have to solve. The latter is essential to hold the cartridge firmly so that as much musical groove information as possible is transformed to its electrical equivalent and fed to the preamp. However, its stake on SME's traditional claim, 'The best tonearm in the world', is supported by an exceptional standard of design – technology, engineering and aesthetics – directed towards versatility, compatibility, but above all, sheer performance.Ī medium-to-high mass arm, with a 10-11g effective mass, its use of materials has been optimised to provide maximum structural resonance control and rigidity. The price has risen above the initial target and now it is available, the 'V' sells for nearly £1200, which is an eye-watering price for a tonearm. Some expressed doubts concerning its credibility at that price, indeed of any similarly-priced tonearm. Components were continually tried from prospective suppliers until the quality was right and when first shown in 1984, the price was targeted at what was then a very high level, at £750 or so. The fruit of many years of creative research, a handmade prototype 'V' was shown to prospective distributors at the American and German shows two years ago, but it has taken a long time to get the arm into production. The Series V tonearm is on sale at last, albeit in limited quantities. Martin Colloms gets to grips with the new SME Series V