SME V : what to expect ?

Kmccarty, when I mentioned problems with tracking/tracing, I didn't mean to say I had problems with skipping(stylus not staying in the groove). My SME's were great trackers in that regard.

I was referring to the fact that pivoted arms are really only dialed in at their two null points and the further you get away from those null points, distortion increases. For whatever reason, I'm quite sensitive to this, particularly near the beginning and towards the end of an lp. My brother, who was born blind, is also very sensitive to this. Aside from my couple nit pics of the SME's, I really did enjoy my time spent with them.

@Kmccarty

You judge the quality of an arm with a Shure V15 ??????

The SME IV and V are very old designs, unchanged from 1987, when they were introduced!

VERY OVER RATED!!!

Thank you so much for your feedback.

The SME V is simply a no-nonsense Product. A good choice when someone is
not an analog fanatic and wants something done right (from the construction).
Sonically it has a good soundstage (but only in the depth, not in the height),
good detail and in a way, you need some knowledge for matching cartridges.
The Shure cart. is a good match for the 3009 (that Arm is hugely overrated,
specially in combination with the MC carts we normally use).
Try to find someone who can rewire that Arm with a good cable, when you
can't, go for the US SME IV.Vi, I think, that one has the best cable from all
inside.

Hi Don C55 - the Shure is a decent cartridge with the Jico stylus. I play around with it for reasons of nostalgia. The point I was making is that the Shure's light tracking force and high cantilever compliance are difficult for some modern arms to handle. The SME arms handle not only the Shure, but also modern moving coils with high(er) tracking forces and low cantilever compliance. As for its ancient design, SME has made improvements in the arms over the years - for example, bearings - (if you're buying used it's worth emailing the serial number to SME to find out what changes have been made since date of manufacture). I don't really think you should dismiss an arm designed at the zenith of vinyl just because of its age. There are many highly sought after arms from that era because they are simply excellent, well executed designs.