SME Series 3
- Thread starter edwin
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hifi_nut
Vintage? I´m vintage!
Highly underrated arm, launched when CDs were just about to hit he market, hence their lifespan was curtailed.
Can be had for very reasonable prices compared to its much more famous brother, the Series II.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/sme/series-iii.shtml
Can be had for very reasonable prices compared to its much more famous brother, the Series II.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/sme/series-iii.shtml
A wonderful arm if you use moderate to high compliance arms, and useable with low compliance arms if you add mass. Variable damping also helps.
The ergonomics are about as good as a tonearm can get -- a dream to use.
But if you are obcessive about bearing rigidity, the knife edge bearings will haunt your dreams -- but of course all the 3009s use knife edge bearings.
The III arms went through a period of high end disdain -- they were ideal for high compliance cartridges just when low compliance moving coils became the rage, so for a while used ones were really cheap, but not now...
The ergonomics are about as good as a tonearm can get -- a dream to use.
But if you are obcessive about bearing rigidity, the knife edge bearings will haunt your dreams -- but of course all the 3009s use knife edge bearings.
The III arms went through a period of high end disdain -- they were ideal for high compliance cartridges just when low compliance moving coils became the rage, so for a while used ones were really cheap, but not now...
Primarily lower mass and damping. Cooler looking also, though the IIs actually are just differently cool looking -- both make the mouth water. The later SMEs inspire respect, but not that sort of drooling. At least in me.
Oh -- also the mass in the III was variable -- you could add or subtract counterweight slugs to tune the resonance, though it was counterintuitive -- you removed slugs to increase moving mass since the counterweight would then have to be farther from the pivot.
Oh -- also the mass in the III was variable -- you could add or subtract counterweight slugs to tune the resonance, though it was counterintuitive -- you removed slugs to increase moving mass since the counterweight would then have to be farther from the pivot.
nitrous
96 dB freak!
SME Series III
I love the SME Series III carts. I use two of them on two of my Thorens TD-125 Mk II tts. (I also use a SME Series II cart on another TD-125 tt.) Both Series III & Series II carts are wonderful to use & sound fantastic.
I see & hear no reason to look any further regarding upgrading my carts & tts.
I love the SME Series III carts. I use two of them on two of my Thorens TD-125 Mk II tts. (I also use a SME Series II cart on another TD-125 tt.) Both Series III & Series II carts are wonderful to use & sound fantastic.
I see & hear no reason to look any further regarding upgrading my carts & tts.
I have an SME III on my Rega Planar 3, it was the arm to have back when I bought mine, as Rega wasn't even building tonearms way back then.
It is still in great shape, and sounds great with medium to high compliance cartridges, which were all the rage back when this arm came out. It was SME's design for an ultralow mass arm. I used mine with a Grace F9E Ruby (both stock and presently a Soundsmith rebuild) and a Grado Blue and Grado Reference Sonata.
Right now, the Grace is in the SME III.
Here are some pix:
With the Grado Prestige 1 Blue
With the Grado Reference Sonata
With the Soundsmith retipped Grace Ruby
It is still in great shape, and sounds great with medium to high compliance cartridges, which were all the rage back when this arm came out. It was SME's design for an ultralow mass arm. I used mine with a Grace F9E Ruby (both stock and presently a Soundsmith rebuild) and a Grado Blue and Grado Reference Sonata.
Right now, the Grace is in the SME III.
Here are some pix:
With the Grado Prestige 1 Blue
With the Grado Reference Sonata
With the Soundsmith retipped Grace Ruby
nailer
audionerd
This from a guy who makes his own headshells. :thmbsp:
nailer
audionerd
From 10/5 (Vol.8, No.6) Stereophile Recommended Components:
"No longer competitive with the best there is but still excellent for high-compliance cartridges, the SME offers excellent tracking, low coloration, and reasonably easy adjustment of all parameters. Suffers form lack of definition, much like the Shure cartridges it works so well with."
Still on list after discontinued! Pretty well thought of in 85.
"No longer competitive with the best there is but still excellent for high-compliance cartridges, the SME offers excellent tracking, low coloration, and reasonably easy adjustment of all parameters. Suffers form lack of definition, much like the Shure cartridges it works so well with."
Still on list after discontinued! Pretty well thought of in 85.
I just picked one up to fool around with. I wanted to hate it, because I like the looks of the 3009's better. After using it for a few days, though, I really began to like it- it's a whole lot easier to deal with. It's almost worth it just for having the tonearm catch on the left side of the stem finally! :tresbon:
Now, who among you has experience with cartridge matching on this arm? I have a Benz Micro Gold on the way, and according to a compliance chart that I found, it "should" work...
-Phil
Now, who among you has experience with cartridge matching on this arm? I have a Benz Micro Gold on the way, and according to a compliance chart that I found, it "should" work...
-Phil
You should consult the owner's manual -- there are headshell weights you can use, and you can vary the mass of the counterweight, and tune the damping. These all interact, so you may need to experiment, but I would assume the manual would get you most of the way quickly.
hifi_nut
Vintage? I´m vintage!
Try SME, themselves. Reportedly, they still carry spares for all their units.
http://www.sme.ltd.uk/content/Spare-parts--Accessories-1310.shtml
Oddly enough, they don't support the III anymore, though they made them for specific markets long after they weren't distributed in the US. But what the heck -- try them. Otherwise it's donor arms and Ebay.
But my memory is that you can cover quite a few cartridges with three weights. The moving mass will be higher than if you had more weights, but it will still be fairly low. Maybe not ideal of the Benz, but might work.
I'd try before getting all sweaty and broke finding more weights.
But my memory is that you can cover quite a few cartridges with three weights. The moving mass will be higher than if you had more weights, but it will still be fairly low. Maybe not ideal of the Benz, but might work.
I'd try before getting all sweaty and broke finding more weights.
nailer
audionerd
Series III parts you're looking for will come up on eBay sooner or later.
That's pretty funny...if you heard my SME III with a Grace F9 Ruby retipped with a Soundsmith ruby canti and nude contact line diamond, the last thing you would ever think is that it lacked definition....
