What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V?
Thinking about the possibility of searching for a new tonearm. The table is a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse. Cartridge currently in use is a Transfiguration Audio Proteus, and it also looks like I will also have an Ortofon Verismo if a diamond replacement occurs without incident.
The V is an early generation one but in good condition with no issues. Some folks never thought highly of the arm, others thought it quite capable. So it's a bit decisive.
The replacement has to be 9 to 10.5 inches. I have wondered if Origin Live is worth exploring? Perhaps a generation old Triplanar from the pre owned market?
Any thoughts on what are viable choices?
It's certainly possible when using a truly balanced (differential) phono stage. |
Re SME V with Kimber KCAG as phono cable I have used this cable for a number of years without problems - not much hum. I compared to a Hovland phono cable, no big difference. I liked the airy sonic signature of the KCAG as interconnects, thats why I used an extra pair for phono cable. It was an audio friend of mine who did the actual soldering to the SME DIN plug but I don't think he used any special tricks. Even if my phono stage is mainly balanced, the first gain stage (of three) is single ended, so I use standard RCA inputs, not XLR. Running a separate ground to the arm makes zero difference, no more or less hum! The unshielded KCAG is certainly sensitive to some kinds of noise, e g digital bursts from an alarm system. But it does not pick up a lot of ordinary hum, in my system. |
This is true. We ran Kimber cable for years with no problems at all- both on the SME5 and Graham 2.2. But if you're running balanced, if the cable and preamp are properly set up you'll find that the 'sound' from one cable to the next is very similar. |
@neonknight My friend with the modified Schue TT > OL Illustrious has been very impressed with the set up, and has now come to the conclusion there is more to be discovered. The Schue will soon be coupled with a OL 'Conqueror Mk IV' > Sumiko Pearwood. It would seem the arm upgrade will bring something new, the Conqueror is one that has superseded the use of the SME IV and V, this is a demonstration I am looking forward to. It also puts another level of Tonearm in the lineup for the upcoming Tonearm Comparisons to be carried out. |
