Good carts with SME V

tsloan - I love the Atlas, no problem, but it needs repair/retip. My friend had a Helikon on a SME V and could never get it quite right. I think the Titan was a better cart. So, for me, it is more a question of trying something new, and have a backup cart.

I have only heard an SME 20 but I will say that the Koetsu that the earlier poster described may be a great option.  I bet it would sound great on an SME

Maybe a benz Gullwing

Ideal requirements:

1 My phono stage plays fine with carts from 0.25 output and it can probably sound good (with quiet tubes) with just 0.20 too. But in my system, it really shines with higher output carts, like 0.5 or 0.6.

2 The SME V effective mass is 10.5 g. Other things equal, a lower weight cart (10.5 grams rather than 11.6, for example) offers more room for increased compliance. The Titan and Atlas have the same specified compliance. Yet the Atlas, due to 1.1 g more weight, pushes the cart-arm resonance further down (towards 7hz). It may be a problem, in some systems. The compliance of the Lyras is around 20 (at 10hz). This seems to fit the energy-absorbing SME V with its rigid structure quite well. But with greater weight, it may be too much of a good thing.

3 I have not been able to clarify exactly what SME V users prefer, regarding carts, should they be low weight, low compliance, or what. Maybe the diverse experiences testifies to the qualities of the arm, it can take on many comers. Some users report good results from cart-arm combinations that don't fit the resonance calculations. Nevertheless, I want to follow the common rule. The resonance should be around 8-10hz. This means 1) a lighter and/or 2) a stiffer cart, compared to the Atlas, 11.6 g with a compliance ca 20. 8-12 g is probably OK for the arm, but compliance should be a bit down if the cart is weighty, more like 14-16. 

So I end up with: output ca 0.5, weight 8-12g, compliance 16 or lower.

It may be that with good tonearms like the SME V, the resonance calculators and test record results are not very indicative. You may have a very good sounding cart, with no perceived problems (maybe, depending on system resolution in low frequencies), even if the cart-arm resonance is  7Hz or lower. This might be a way to explain the very varied user results. Cf sublmnl, with the Frog, above. By the book it should be problematic, by the ears, it was great.