I don't know whether there is more than source for those B60 replicas, but I have one of the replicas, probably the same one that Nandric purchased, and I have examined it side by side with a bona fide original B60. The replica is as well made as the original. The vertical shaft of my FR64s is not wobbly when mounted in the replica B60, and the motion up and down is well damped and smooth, rather than sloppy. With the adjusters tightened down, the replica B60 has a death grip on the tonearm, as one would want. I have no complaints at all, in fact. I have not watched the video, but if the replica shown in the video exhibits the faults described above, then I can only conclude it comes from a different source. Nandric is also correct in saying that the ones he and I bought are no longer available, for the last few years in fact.
SME V Tonearm on eBay Hong Kong Sellers are FAKE!!!
These scumbags have been selling these for a while now. It comes from multiple accounts originating out of Hong Kong. They sell on average two SME V tonearms a month, at $1400-$2200, auction style. Fellow audiophiles, please stop buying these. They are 100% fake. They are cheap hideous copies.
Report and do not buy from sellers: mandy-930 and makiyo2008
Report and do not buy from sellers: mandy-930 and makiyo2008
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Copy, Replica, Recreation.....they are all FAKE and COUNTERFEIT. No amount of sophistry will change that. I would go so far as to say one man's "copy...in the sense of admiration" is another man's theft of property. Regarding something as critical as a tonearm, I would wonder about the quality of the materials used in construction. What is the quality of the bearing(s) ? Different base metals, or composites, machined to a standard that is not the same as the original, bearings of inferior grade...all would combine to represent an inferior product. Just because it "looks" the same, does not mean it will perform the same..... Given that the seller(s) are in HK leads me to believe that the producer of the arm(s) is Chinese based. Another red flag. This is not a xenophobic judgment but a caveat based upon known trade practices. How many times have we seen Chinese based components at shockingly low prices that look a lot like a known brand ? As for the SME Arm, individuals complaining to Ebay may not accomplish anything. I would complain to the local importer, and parent company, then let their lawyers contact Ebay regarding FAKE and COUNTERFEIT merchandise. |
See here for Europol on counterfeit goods: https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-trends/crime-areas/intellectual-property-crime/counter... |
Ebay and/or PayPal protection is based on buyers money. The money can be blocked on sellers account and in case of ''default'' returned to the buyer. The general complaint is ''not as described'' ( in the listing). This obviously apply for items which are described as ''original'' but are in fact copies. The difference between SME and FR-B-60 is that the later is described as ''copy''. I think that B-60 is much more easy to ''reproduce'' with modern CNN lathe's than SME. Even so the B-60 replica could not be sold for more than $500 . That is why those are not anymore produced. The seller was not able to get any profit with this price. BTW intellectual property is protected for certain time while the precondition is payment of ''maintenance'' contribution . The added problem is that patent law in one country is not the same as in the other. I think that fashion has much problems with ''replicas'' than objects of our desire. |
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