Ortofon 309 vs. SME 3012 for SPUs

you should try to find a japanese only 500-limited edition of SPU "spirit". it ain't silver wired but a rumour among Japanese audiophiles is it has the best price/performance ratio compared to any SPU. it ain't exactly a silver meister but it cost 40% less while performing significantly better than classic (for 20% more), especially on modern production.

I use a 309D arm, so I figure it deserves at least one SPU in it's life. Can any users commented on the advantages, disadvantages of the bodied verses N versions of the cartridge. The latter are quite a bit cheaper. Thanks

The Spirit is a very nice SPU and I agree the price/performance is a sweet spot. Most are sold and they are super rare outside Japan. I've only very briefly compared them but I liked my Royal GM more. Once I can get a rear tonearm up and running on my Raven for the SPU I will do a more serious comparison.

In fact thats what attracted me to this thread. I was going to use my Jelco 12" or an FR64fx for this purpose but thought have been turning to alternate 12" SPU friendly tonearms like FR66fx, Ikeda IT407 SME 3012-R, M2-12R or the Ortofon RMG309i. So many options!

I use a 309D on my TW Accustic Raven one and find it an excellent match. I chose it, because Thomas at TW uses it himself and he told me, he felt it gave 90% of the performance of a Phantom at a much cheaper price.

I had did have the RS212D briefly but had to return 2 samples due to loose bearings unfortunately. I ended up with the AS212S as that one in the shop was ok. It was a nice arm on my SP10 with an SPU and various other carts. I changed to the 750L to see what the 12" fuss was about and preffered it with my SPUs. I'd like to try a good 309D yet but the M2-12R and RMG-309i look very tempting. Not sure how much better than a 750L they would be though, if at all.