SME V and Te Kaitora Rua

It is not a big deal at all. Very easy to adjust the amount of dampening. You will have fun with it.
That Te Kaitora Ru is nice isn't it. Hard to imagine you could get much better.

Jim

soundsreally needs to disclose the financial interest when commenting favorably on a product in his line.

To not do so is unethical and unprofessional.

IMO

I had a SME V with Dyna XX2m1 and later on XX2m2. Both sounded beter with silicon damping. The sound is more controlled, with less stray noises and quieter between notes.

Even when I moved on from SME V to Basis Vector 4, silicon damping did bring a more precise sound which I prefer. By precise i mean no stray ringing or artificial notes extension caused by vibrations and resonance.

Dear Mikesmith: I use the V/IV with the XV-1 cartridge with good quality performance.

As contrary with an unipivot tonearm that always needs damping the SME V non unipivot design does not necessary needs.

After a precise cartridge/tonearm set up ( VTA/SRA/overhang/load impedance and the like. ) and after some hours of playback you can begin to try with different damping " levels " and decide in your system which damping level you need if any.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Had the SMEV/TKR for a while. Cartridge is good matching with the arm. For sure not the best combination of the world but one of the best cartridges for SME.

Cheers,
Marco