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SME 3009 Series III Haters

Not much has been written about this old classic lately but I just acquired one and put it on an Oracle Alexandria. I read all sorts of bad comments like its the Red Head of SME’s arms but there were a few that loved it and I’m here to say I’m in the love camp. I’ve been at this for 40 or so years and had my share of gear. I have a Grado Reference Series 2 that weighs 10 gms with a compliance of 20.
The arm only has a moving mass of 5 gms, that is low these days but this combination works fantastic.
Ya the arm has all sorts of adjustments but most of us enjoy messing around with that sort of thing anyway, and every setting makes perfect sense and makes you think why don’t more arms give you that flexibility. Anyway all the manuals can be downloaded so there is no reason if you come across one you couldn’t get it to sing on your system. There are other classic SME arms from the 80’s that sell in the thousands but these can be had in the $500 range. Worth ever penny and only going to go up in price.
Get your hands on one and see for your self what a quality arm feels like and sounds like.
This has the feel of an arm that just came out, can’t believe it’s 40 years ago. My 2 bits worth 😎





128x128muddywaters61
muddywaters61's avatar
muddywaters61 OP
41 posts
 
That’s exactly what I’m trying to dispel. 
I have a Medium Compliance Cartridge in the Grado that when you plug in the numbers for Tonearm  frequency on those
graphs posted on line I’m bang on 9 Hz. 
Yet everyone keeps saying only High Compliance 25+. The Grado is 20 and
is perfectly suited in all respects.
Just hate to think people have over looked
this so called black sheep because of what they have read. This is surely my last arm. 
It’s that good! 😎

 
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,438 posts
 
Dammit. I thought it was a Series lll haters thread.
lewm
12,481 posts
 
Muddy, The only reason to assume that the III should be used with high compliance cartridges is its very low mass.  If you are using a heavy headshell, screws, or cartridge, that could more than make up for its inherent low mass. Plus there's the question of how seriously to take the calculation for resonant frequency.  But since most modern tonearms are at least 10g and up in effective mass, if you are a stickler, and if you have a very high compliance cartridge, then the III is appealing.  That doesn't necessarily mean that the III could not work fine with lower compliance cartridges.  On the other hand, I would not use it with a Denon or Koetsu, if you want to get the most out of your cartridge.
muddywaters61's avatar
muddywaters61 OP
41 posts
 
Ya that’s very true, if were using a low compliance moving coil I certainly wouldn’t expect this low mass arm to bring out
its best. But for most MM’s this is nice
match. For a cartridge that doesn’t have the weight the Grado has you can add the
extra wt. I always root for the underdog and when I see such negative comments 
on this wonderful arm I just have to speak up. Like anything, get the setup right and it’s truly magical. Simple VTA height can 
make or break any arm and cartridge setup
even if everything else is perfect. 
Love these discussions 😎
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
There are many great tonearms designed for high compliance cartridges, many of them are underrated today, because high compliance MM/MI cartridges is definitely not a trend of today. You have to try Grace F14 or LEVEL II with BR/MR stylus on this arm to forget about Shure forever.

Why SME tonearms is definitely not my kind of arms, i remember some users posted about this model many times on audiogon. However, the arm is too ugly for my taste, just like those Grado tonearms.

My current favorite tonearm for mid or high compliance cartridges is DENON DA-401, the arm is underrated and i was lucky to buy NOS in the box few years ago (the price was sweet). Mounted my Joe Grado Signature XTZ MI cartridge on it. It’s been a while since i used this cartridge, first time on this arm, love it!

Not a hater, but SME of any king never was in my wantlist. On vintage side there are many top class Japanese tonearms that just much more attractive (imo). On the modern side there are also so many other tonearms available. I think i will never buy any SME. I just don't understand the hype about SME (and knife-edge bearings). 
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