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Headshells for SME 3009 (mki I believe)

A Montreal said:
So this means that the headshell that Audiosilente sold me is useless. Is that what I am to understand?

Here is the info I have on the cartridges:

Nagaoka MP200
Weight: 6.5g
Tracking force: 1.7g

Ortofon 2M Bronze
Weight: 7.2g
Tracking force: 1.5g

With a headshell of 15g approx, we are WAY too heavy. I am understanding this correctly? It would be odd because I clearly communicated with him what arm I would be using the headshell for.
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Provided your tonearm has been repaired to the original specs and most importantly effective mass (with original headshell) , a brief calculation says that the MP200 is a "better" match to the sme than the 2m Bronze. Some will perhaps argue that the 2m Bronze is a "better" cartridge though.
Since you now have both cartridges , I would suggest you use the 2m Bronze on the original headshell and the MP200 on the AS headshell. In case of the MP200/AS headshell there might be a problem for the sme counterweight to balance their weight.
 
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LP-THORN said:
Provided your tonearm has been repaired to the original specs and most importantly effective mass (with original headshell) , a brief calculation says that the MP200 is a "better" match to the sme than the 2m Bronze. Some will perhaps argue that the 2m Bronze is a "better" cartridge though.
Since you now have both cartridges , I would suggest you use the 2m Bronze on the original headshell and the MP200 on the AS headshell. In case of the MP200/AS headshell there might be a problem for the sme counterweight to balance their weight.
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Sadly, when the repair is done to the arm, the original headshell will no longer be useable as it is missing part of the connecter to the tonearm. It is also missing the round piece at the top. Not in great shape. But that aside, the fact that the headshell that I purchased weighs around 15 g and the original headshell is around 6 g, and that the difference between the two cartridges is only around a gram, it seems that it would be complicated to be going back-and-forth between the two.
 
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A Montreal said:
I have been looking at my options and am wondering if instead of having my arm repaired, which will take many hours and come to quite a chunk of change, plus extra parts and such, am I not better off buying a refurbished tonearm on Reverb from Yokohama? They do appear to be in great shape.
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I could also then sell my arm at a reduced price. In the end, the exchange wouldn’t be too expensive. In fact, less expensive than getting it repaired… or at least in the same ballpark. The arm, aside from the connector, is in great shape.
 
LP-THORN said:
I think it would be easy to find the collar for the arm if that will cost less than going to a refurbished ( same ) tonearm.
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By collar, you mean the female part of the connection between the tonearm and the headshell? If so, I already have one from AudioSilente. That was the original reason I had reached out to Simone. The thing is, the job will likely be a six-hour affair, taking the arm apart, replacing rubber components that I bought from SME Tonearms, rewiring and putting it back together. At that point I am at approx. $480 or so. For $900, I could get a completely refurbished arm. If I sell mine for $400 we aren’t that far off. I feel that there is a greater guarantee of an arm that wasn’t in the shape mine was in. But then again, it may simply be a question of the grass is always greener on the other side.
 
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I guess the easiest path to follow would be to find two similarly-weighted headshells (or rather two of the same) that work with the SME 3009. When consideing the tracking force and weight of the cartridges, the difference is less than 1g. I imagine that with a little putty (or whatever they use), it will be easy to get to the two headshell/cartridge combos to work on the same arm with similar settings, only requiring a few minor adjustments when swapping them.

MY KNOWLEDGEABLE FRIENDS! Any suggestions of a headshell that not only doesn’t break the bank, but that also would be a good match for the SME 3009 II non-improved tonearm that I have (considering the counterweights I have), that would work well with the Ortofon 2M Bronze and the Nagaoka MP200?
 
LP-THORN said:
What is the problem with the tonearm then ?
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I haven’t taken it to a tech yet to fix the connector. There are rubber components that need to be replaced (that I purchased from SME Tonearms in Ontario, Canada). Just not sure how expensive an endeavour that would be as I would be paying the tech per hour. I also don’t yet have the correct headshells. And perhaps would it be a good idea to change the RCA cables that come with it? While it’s in there I might as well get the job done.
 
The compliance difference between m2 and MP200 is big and imo using two headshells of similar weight will not help both cartridges.
The AS headshell weight is about ok for the MP200 as long as your counterweights can balance the combination, while the 2m Bronze will need a very light headshell like, or close to the weight of the original SME.
 
A Montreal said:
I haven’t taken it to a tech yet to fix the connector. There are rubber components that need to be replaced (that I purchased from SME Tonearms in Ontario, Canada). Just not sure how expensive an endeavour that would be as I would be paying the tech per hour. I also don’t yet have the correct headshells. And perhaps would it be a good idea to change the RCA cables that come with it? While it’s in there I might as well get the job done.
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The rubber parts are easy to replace in little time.
 
A Montreal said:
I have been looking at my options and am wondering if instead of having my arm repaired, which will take many hours and come to quite a chunk of change, plus extra parts and such, am I not better off buying a refurbished tonearm on Reverb from Yokohama? They do appear to be in great shape.
Click to expand...

Get your SME serviced, it will serve you well and wisely for many more years of excellent performance. email: service@sme.ltd.uk will get you help!
 
The arm in question since people can't see it in the link. To me this seems pretty straightforward, remove the arm- remove the 4 pin end connector and solder the wires back onto the new collar which would have the missing 4 pin plastic connector. If this is wrong then i'm missing the mark.
Screen Shot 2023-06-15 at 9.43.42 AM.pngScreen Shot 2023-06-15 at 9.43.30 AM.png
 
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bktheking said:
The arm in question since people can't see it in the link. To me this seems pretty straightforward, remove the arm- remove the 4 pin end connector and solder the wires back onto the new collar which would have the missing 4 pin plastic connector. If this is wrong then i'm missing the mark.
View attachment 2910173View attachment 2910174
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How did you get my photos posted? I was trying to do that before and it didn’t seem to work.

I got the collar that has wires that would go all the way to the connecter at the base of the arm. I had intended for the technician to take the entire thing apart, replace whatever needs to be replaced and tighten everything up properly. Is that a foolish idea?
 
I took a screen cap and attached the files.

If the wires are good, just replace the collar and be done with it, that's all i would do in all honesty. If you have a soldering iron and a steady hand you could do this yourself- you already know the wires are good as they work now.
 
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LP-THORN said:
The compliance difference between m2 and MP200 is big and imo using two headshells of similar weight will not help both cartridges.
The AS headshell weight is about ok for the MP200 as long as your counterweights can balance the combination, while the 2m Bronze will need a very light headshell like, or close to the weight of the original SME.
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About this idea… am I not to look at the desired tracking force/weight and the weight of the cartridge/headshell combo? If the difference in tracking weight is about 0.2g and the difference in the cartridge weight is less than 1g, are we not to presume that they require headshells that are much closer in weight? Or am I missing something?

Also, I read somewhere that the Nagaoka wants an effective mass of 12g or under. But the arm alone is 12.5g. I truly don’t understand how this works. Haha!
 
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Okay. Just calculated the resonant frequency of my arm as it is presently with the Ortofon 2M Bronze and it seems we are in the sweet spot thanks to the absence of the emblem on the headshell and the small piece that is missing on the inside.

Trying to figure out the compliance of the MP200. Doesn’t seem obvious.
 
If your wires are good then just replace the collar, small screw in the bottom of the arm tube holds the collar in place, desolder and resolder the new one in place.

The real labor in rebuilding a 3009 is the rewire and bearing replacement, it’s tedious…

The rubber collar on the counter weight tube may or may not need replacement, it isn’t particularly hard to do but one should watch a video on YouTube before trying.

My advice is to just add a new collar and try the arm for a while….


VR
Andy
 
Hi Andy,

Thanks for adding to the conversation. I guess I had my heart set on having the tech open it up and make sure all was good. I also bought these to be replaced:

SME 3009,3012, SerIII Rubber Bed Plate Grommets NOS BRITISH MADE SME PRODUCT

and

SME 3009,3012, Coupling Rubbers & Service Sheet NOS BRITISH MADE SME PRODUCT

Also, I have been having an issue where one side is brighter than the other. It may be something in the wiring, or it may be something with the cartridge. It is definitely something before the phono stage because I have tested swapping left and right.

Considering the fact that this tonearm hasn’t been taken apart in more 30 years, I figured that if I’m going to bring the turntable to the tech, I might as well go all the way and have it all looked at in depth. I really like the idea of doing that. BUT, now with three people suggesting not to go through all that if I don’t need to, I am wondering if in fact I might cause more problems rather than do good.
 
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