Difference between SME 3009 VS. RB 300?

not too many people will be able to answer to you this question since it's pretty i believe rare to get one person that tried or heard both on the same table.

rb300 is unadjustable minimalistically designed arm with rigid and straight armtube and fixed headshell. this construction has theoretically the minimum vibration inside its structure. rb300 minimalistic design demands a maximum precision drilling from armboards and from turntables at the same time which is nearly unrealistic.

sme3009 is s-shaped tonearm with detachable headshell and fully adjustable azimuth, vta, anti-skate but sophisticated and consists of too many joint parts that can invoke unwanted resonance due to its mutual vibrational interactions.

in general still more success can be acheived with rb300 but there could be some problems such as misread or distorted inner grooves, problems setting up the correct anti-skate.

Please make a note that you can try out an AudioQuest PT9 arm that sort-of combines quality of both and in the same price range + very user friendly. Will be a great match to any inexpencive turntable such as Thorens TD160, Well-Tempered. For more expencive precision-crafted decks I would suggest RB300 or even RB250 that goes in standard package with lots of great decks such as Basis, Clearaudio, Michell and even LP12.

Soon I will have a 3009 arm mounted on one of my TD 160's and I have a Rega 25 with RB300 arm and the incogito wiring upgrade, heavyweight, and VTA riser kit. I intend to do some extensive comparisions between the P25, modified TD160, the stock TD 160 and the old relible AR XA and see which decade's system rules.