SME iV.Vi or SME V for SME 20 turntable?

Opus, both arms are indeed physically identical in terms of parts, materials, etc. So if you are hearing a difference, it has to be due to the internal wiring differences. And it stands to reason that the wiring should produce sonic differences, especially with the very low output MC cartriges (.3 mV +/-), otherwise, why would SME bother making this special version?
.

Your point is wll taken, Nsgarch, and you are right. My comments did not reflect your observation from the standpoint of separating the matter of wire differences from the tonearm itself. My apologies for the oversight.

The 'tonearm height adjuster' of the V - which is the VTA/SRA adjuster - is, imo, worth the cost difference. The adjuster screw has a fine thread which allows much more accurate and smaller incremental changes than raising the post by hand.

Fwiw, the IV.Vi (not the IV) as spec'd by Sumiko is described by them as having ".50 guage Magnan type Vi" internal wiring. Maybe their site info is dated. I speculate the arm cable to phono input will have as much an impact on sonics as the internal wire.

Tim

Actually, Tim, SME now makes their own 'Magnan type" ribbon for the IV.Vi. And believe it or not intenal wiring makes a real difference (if it's great stuff, of course.) When I sent my V to England for it's scheduled 15 year service appointment ;--) I asked them to remove the old copper (their standard wire at the time I bought the arm) and replace it with the van den Hul MCS 150, their very best silver Litz wire (this is even better stuff than the standard 150M? they use now.) And it made a huge difference. So did getting rid of that crappy van den Hul Silver Hybrid tonearm cable. I wonder if SME knows how much damage that terrible cable does to the reputation of their tonearm ;--)
.

Thanks, Neil, for the update on the newer copper ribbon in the IV.Vi. I agree the internal wiring makes a difference.

The Sumiko site says the V's external cable is VdH 501 and describes the internal as 'van den Hul mono crystal silver', while SME says the IV's internal is LC-OFC copper.

In his coverage of CES in the April '07 'Stereophile', Fremer describes being shown an updated V that SME has (or is about to) release: "...upgraded low-tolerance bearings and new internal wiring of silver." Presumably the bearings are beyond ABEC-7 - wonder if they might be ceramic.

My ancient FMS Blue II copper tonearm cable sounds better than the stock SME and it is a wee bit limited on the frequency extremes. Its next on my list for upgrade.