The SME pick up arm.
'The best pick up arm in the world'
On the 4th Dec. 1973 I purchased a Gerard 401 turntable (for £25.95) and was disappointed to find
that SME pick up arms had sold out at all dealers before Xmas. On 3rd Jan 1973 I finally
received my SME Mk2 Improved tonearm.
Later that month an SME plinth was added and the turntable and arm fitted into it.
(as usual I kept the receipts so the dates are accurate). In Nov 1978 SME charged £14.54
including VAT to converted the arm to take a detachable headshell. In October 1978 the
F200 damper was also added (£16.95). I remember, just before buying the arm, reading
a review in one of the hi fi magazines and the reviewer agreed it was 'the best pick up
arm in the world' To be fair, in those days nothing came even close!
In May 1976 (I still have the letter sent in for the advert), I sold my SME 2000 plinth
and Garrard 401 turntable.
I had purchased a Lynn Sondek and was using the SME arm with the Linn Sondek LP12.
Early in 1980 I sold the SME arm (after 8 years of use) and in March 1980 I purchased a
Linn Ittok arm and a Linn Asac cartridge (see above).
(I must apologise for not keeping these items. This sort of thing did not happen very often!)
I did, however, keep all the SME leaflets, invoices and letters safe and in storage
(so not entirely a total unlikely clearance brainstorm!)
The 12-inch SME model was designed to reduce tracking error and in it's day it was not very
popular as most people considered the less inertia and tracking weight of the 9-inch model
outweighed any tracking error issues. Today, however, it is the 12-inch model that is by
far the most sought after by collectors.
The series 2 Improved model had the narrower counter weight (see pictures above.) In the late
1970s and early 1980s a number of companies made head shells with the same screw fixing
and were interchangeable. Here are the brochures about the SME plinth system
The SME Model 2000 Plinth System.
In the 1970s after visiting a Hi Fi show and seeing a display stand (see above) I rang SME
rather cheekily and asked if there was any chance they had a spare they could send me?
They sent one to me straight away free of charge!
It was on display in our living room next to the hi fi for over 20 years much to my wife's
annoyance. She could not understand why the room had items in that made it look
like a shop! I just thought it looked fantastic ..... anyway it made me happy
and still does as I now see it every day in my office.
I always regretted (big time!) selling the SME arm and in Jan 2010 (30 years later) I obtained
another with a Thorens 150 turntable. You can see this one had an ADC VLM Mk II' cartridge
fitted. After all this time it is great to be the proud owner of another SME arm.
SME are still in business today and they make magnificent tonearms. They also make an
ultimate turntable to accompany 'the best pick up arm in the world'
To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever challenged that statement ??