SME is leaving the OEM and aftermarket/retail tonearm business.

While I agree that there are better arms "now" available, IMHO, without SME, our current state of the art in tonearms would be much different.

SME has been around since 1959 and has advanced the tonearm design quite a bit in that time.

I bet if you ask some tonearm designers where they learned about the trade, they will say from SME.

Every SME tonearm can be found on second hand market for much better price than new from the dealers, they made so many of them and i think there are many left for buyers. Shouldn't be a problem at all to find and buy just the arm without turntable.  

This is sad IMHO. I first owned a 3009 S2 in the seventies and now a MKIV. Outstanding products, that look beautiful, work perfectly and are extremely well made. Plus exemplary customer service, what more can one ask for? All I can say is, my SME IV is now a keeper for life.

Had a SME IV and V on an Oracle MKIII back in the 80's.

Never sounded great with any MC cartridge I tried.

There are much better arms to buy.

Tend to disagree with some on the SMEs. I've owned the IV and the V and found them to be excellent. They exude a quality and precision that makes them a joy to set up and use, and I had great experiences with many cartridges on them over the years. Best in the world? I am not sure there is anything in audio that I would claim emphatically so, but they are undoubtedly great performers. To each their own.