SME 309 or SME 3009r?

I own a 309. It is an outstanding arm. Better than many of the arms that I have owned before I changed to that arm!

sorry @lewm I have not heard the Technics and can not comment. I do not make pronouncements based on spec sheets.

@yogiboy I find your comment interesting. I trialled a MkIV on my Rock tt and was rather underwhelmed, although it did some things very well. The dealer told me that the IV was a bit of a dud and that I really should listen to a V. Unfortunately I moved and never had the opportunity to take him up on his offer.

@pesky_wabbit 

I trialled a MkIV on my Rock tt and was rather underwhelmed, although it did some things very well. The dealer told me that the IV was a bit of a dud and that I really should listen to a V. 

This is nonsense.

The later SME IV had the same bearings as the V - the main difference is the addition of damping troughs and minor bits to the V. If the IV is a dud in your dealers opinion then the V must be too - they are essentially the same arm.

I distributed SME for a brief period - I know these arms well.

For the great uneducated in this thread - as @neptune123 pointed out the SME 3009R is a totally different model to the SME 3009.

SME 3009 - light arm for medium to high compliance cartridges.

SME3009R - medium mass arm - stainless steel arm tube - released many years after the earlier 3009.

The SME 3009R is a much more sophisticated tonearm - for example the counterweight assembly can be adjusted laterally and well as forwards and backwards to ensure perfect weight distribution over the knife edge bearings.

From the comments above I would surmise that most of you have never heard a SME 3009R, which was sold predominantly in Japan.

As far as the Tinn Tiktok goes - they all had soft bearings - the SME 3009R will be still be running long after the Tiktoks have worn out.