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SME 30 / 12 pre-release details.

Some news from SME about the new 30 /12 turntable and arm.
Updated information:
Orders before the 23rd of December will be supplied in early to mid - February. UK list price £22,987.89.
The new Series V-12 arm will not be available with a detachable headshell as this role is taken by the 312S tonearm.
It is possible to order the turntable for use with a 9" and 12" SME tonearm but only one arm can be fitted at a time and the other would have to be removed from the arm mounting plate, in the same way as the Model 20/12A.
The Series V-12 and the 312S are supplied as standard with a range of extra tungsten weight`s to balance any cartridge.
Turntable Weight is approx 70kg (150lb). Size is 520mm wide x 375mm deep, height not known yet.
The sizes are for the prototypes and have increased very slightly for production, exact dimensions to follow.
The turntable will be available with many of the brass components Gold plated, this is a no cost option with as many, or as little as you require.
It is very expensive for SME to produce the 12" one piece tonearm, so they want to keep this model as the flagship of the range. But the 312S will available with the Series V balance weight assembly at no extra cost.
scousepasty
bpwalsh
1,195 posts
 
The new Series V-12 arm will not be available with a detachable headshell as this role is taken by the 312S tonearm.
They could learn from others who know to run the headshell leads out of the arm to the cartridge and which run continuous to the end of the tonearm cable, all the while not compromising the physical connection between the headshell and arm.
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Funny, you're a dealer. And you have something negative to say about something you likely don't sell ??

The SME tables are arms are consistently rated tops. The new 30/12 and V-12 maybe in the top 5 tables available (of course that's for the debates about to start)

If you want to sell me something you think is better, send me a note, I'll give you a call and we'll see...but let's be above board and not take swipes at something based on opinions...
cjfrbw
148 posts
 
12 percent increased chassis stiffness and a 3 pound heavier platter would probably make the stretch 30 audibly better in the bass foundation of the music over the standard 30. I have never been impressed by the 12 inch arm concept. The 12 inch kludges designed for the original massive broadcast tables were not intended for improved tracing accuracy, per se, just convenience, cuing, and use with the old style low compliance cartridges. The improved "tracing distortion" has always been an isolated factoid taken out of context for the purpose of justifying a nostalgia craze and I seriously doubt it is audible outside of the self anointed who believe they can hear a gnat fart in a hurricane. A "27 percent decrease in tracing distortion" translates into perhaps 1.1 percent tracing distortion at the distortion apogee vs. 1.5 percent tracing distortion with a nine inch arm. It is more likely that any differences in sound between 12 inch and 9 inch arms are based on mass effect and different compliance cartridges.
I have found that the Da Vinci Grandezza arm extracts much better bass and lower midrange from the standard 30/2 than the SME IV-VI arm, so bearing dynamics of the tonearm seem to contribute as well as turntable mass effects.
Nontheless, the stretch 30 with a 12 inch Grandezza arm would have to be a killer diller combo. SME has also made the cost increase very reasonable considering the increased weight and stiffness of the turntable/platter in relation to the standard 30.
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