SME 20/2 SME V or Triplanar VII?


I'm in the process of acquiring an SME 20/2 and I would like to know others' thoughts and experiences with deciding whether to arm it with the SME V or the Triplanar VII.
Ag insider logo xs@2xcipherjuris
Hi Ed,

When you get into high-mass unsuspended turntables, the arm compatibility is reduced to a non-issue - at least from a mass perspective, because there is no resonant tuning to deal with a turntable's suspension.

This reduces the challenge such as it were to the non-trivial task of component matching - canceling colorations and such. The good news is that we're at the top tier of components and so the task becomes both easier and more difficult:

It's easier, because all of the tonearms under consideration control cartridge resonances quite well - to a greater or lesser extent. The interesting thing about this is that you'll discover different cartridges sounding paradoxically both more resolving and yet more alike. The reason for this is that as you mitigate a major source of coloration (resonance), resolution rises, and one major contributor to their sonic signatures is reduced.

Of course, it becomes more difficult as you hear more deeply into the rest of your system ... but that's why we play this crazy game.

The best news to come out of all of this is that as you tame resonances, you'll be listening to more of your record collection and not less.

This is the single most significant reason I see for going to extreme with your analog - to be able to listen to your dumpster RCA Dynagrooves. I regularly pull them out during a demo to show how a good analog rig expands your record collection.

A system that shunts you into playing only your best recordings is a system that is ultimately flawed.

Enjoy!

Thom @ Galibier
Thom, interesting that you should mention Dynagrooves. I love flamenco guitar and jaleo. My favorite recorded performance of this music (in my collection) is by Juan Serrano and it's a Dynagroove! I bought it in 1967 (that certainly shows my age!) when I had my first post-college system - Garrard changer, shure cartridge, Revox 10" Reel to Reel tape recorder, Sansui receiver and very large Sansui speakers.

Yeah, I would like to hear tha LP sound better than ever!

Best,

Ed
Hi Cipherjuris,

go for the Graham Phantom with SME mount.
It is a perfect TA.

regards
Karl-Heinz
ps: a ZYX Universe and a Kondo KSL
I just purchased an SME 20/2 with a Phantom B-44 and added a Lyra Titan cartridge. Absolutely wonderfull sound. Got it from Brooks and he set it up just perfect. Happy listening.
Thanks, everyone. Karl, I did go for the SME mount on the Phantom. Thanks Dabugman, I'm looking forward to mine. Must decide on a cartridge now.

I'm considering Dyanvector XV1S or Zyx Universe. I listen to a very wide range of music:

Classical 20% (collection of 50s & 60s Mercury Living Presence & RCA Living Stereo), Pop (mostly female singers) 20%, Current Rock & Classic Rock 20% (everything but Rap), Jazz 20%, Folk (American, Irish, Australian 20%

Recommendations?

Ed