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SME III Tonearm: Classic or Dinosaur?

At 14, I killed myself delivering papers and mowing lawns to buy my first Hafler amps and Magneplanar MG-1b's and I lucked into a deal on an SME III tonearm on a Kenwood KD-500 with a Grado Signature cartridge. I thought the SME was the most exotic piece of gear in the world with its fluid dampening system and pulley mounted anti skating (?) device, and with fond memories was very excited to see one for sale recently. Does anyone know how this arm might compare with tonearms of today, especially the newer SME's? Could this work reasonably well or am I just being sentimental?
cwlondon
kr4ef94
208 posts
 
The III was the one designed for lowest mass and lowest traking force, not the IV. OTOH, it used with the very high compliance, very low mass cartridges that IT WAS DESIGNED FOR (and not most MC designs), it is excellent.
frap
202 posts
 
The SME III and 3009 ,to my ears, was better sound (with cartridges in their compiance comfort zones), than the highly praised SME V. That model always exhibited a rather thickish tone,for lackof a better word.The SME III may still be the best choice for the Shute V-15 cartridge or those of like compliance.
andyshih84db
2 posts
 
I purchased this SME Arm 20 years ago and used it with my then truntable Thorens TD126 .It served flawlessly for nearly 10 years before I changed my playback system for the Well Temper Turntable (I am now using the integral turntable Foresell Reference). If my memory serves me correctly, the SME Arm had a midrange purity and vividness that was completely a class by itself - even by today's standard, hard to surpass. This Arm is a Classic, not a Dinosaur.
curio's avatar
curio
294 posts
 
The SME III is a Classic not a Dino!
I had this arm many years ago , kinda more than a decade (10 years) and I enjoied it with a Shure V15 IV.
A great Arm choice nowaday too , but good only with MM cartridges due to its low mass.
gregm
3,021 posts
 
Ditto, above, regarding cartridge mass. Very fond memories of the arm on a TD 126 + Grado (yes, me too!).

Cheers!
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