Should I buy a VDH Colibri or Black Beauty?

Dear Fmpnd, No idea about the dimensions of your SME-30
but for my Kuzma Stabi Reference I solved the problem by
ordering from 'Reed L' (www.turntables.lt)one special 'torret' (aka 'base') with one 12" tonearm.
This combo is made after consultation about the relevant
dimensions . So I put this combo next to my TT and enjoy
the luxury of two tonearms. BTW the phono is Basis exclusive with 2 inputs and the tonearms are: Triplanar VII
with Ruby 3 and Reed L 2 A (29 gr.eff.mass) with Phase Tech
P-3G.
Regards,

I think, vdH was the only one who made custom orders (I guess "Colibri"), he had some from his own idea or the customer said (even what kind of "sound" is preferred), what he wanted and vdH tried to do it. But I heard, based on his age, he gave all to Lukaschek (Benz)...

Question regarding loading: I believe the Colibris are 47k. Is your experience that they work best with a phono stage that is also at 47k?

Dear Jimjoyce: The manufacturer spec on my LOMC Van den Hul cartridges states: 500 Ohms and Iwas/am satisfied at: 100 Ohms.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

They vary from unit to unit in internal resistance. Therefore, a 47K ohm load would be good for some and not for others. Mine has a relatively high internal resistance. (Cannot recall the number.) vdH recommends "200 ohms to 47K ohms" for the load resistance. JimJoyce, any MC or MM cartridge will have an internal resistance or impedance way below 47K, so I was not sure exactly what you were getting at.