Replacement cart for SME 3009 S2 Improved Fixed Headshell

[Daniel Quinn]

The net will tell you .

a] most people recommend shure or good moving magnets
b] those people who have tried moving coils are happy.
c] there is debate over which is best .

[wallace]

I used a shure M75ED for over ten years and was always happy with the sound,replacement stylus's were cheap as well.I was forever saving up for a V15,but the money always went to something more pressing,

[_D_S_J_R_]

Is the SME a DETACHABLE SHELL version (S2) or does it have the fixed headshell?

My beef with the M75-ED, V15T2 and relatives is that there is an old fashioned treble suck-out that adding capacitance doesn't always cure, the 75 and 91 ED's having iffy diamonds too if original. The V15T2 is nice though and mine has a nice diamond tip, but high compliance means 1g tracking at max, rather than the 1.3g needed by the other two.

One of the best (if not the nicest for audiophools) modern cartridges is the Shure me97XE. used in an 'Improved' SME on the Thorens, with the phono plug capacitors in situ, it should give a superbly honest and neutral perspective with great tracking and I can vouch that the arm loves it!

Another that I use here on one of my Garrards is the AT120E (the £100 approx. version with orange stylus assembly). It isn't good with massy arms as the bass goes to pieces (read the UK magazine review, either 'Choice or News, I can't remember) in a massier arm. Finely integrated and nicely lively in an SME I think.

If the arm is an S2 type with removable shell, then a Sumiko shell and added mass to the counterweight if a heavier one can no longer be bought, will enable any reasonable MC to be used. For best results, a trip to Audio Origami for an arm tube foam-fill would be recommended I think.

As for chattering knife edges, I'd respectfully suggest that some of this is foo, so that some sellers can market expensive brass 'alternatives.' The delrin? knife edges are incredibly low in friction, self damping and \I think the thin low mass arm pipe would take off before the knife-edges let go as they're gravity loaded to the yoke by a heavy counterweight at one end and the cartridge at the other.

So much more to add from intimate knowledge of these arms, but risk of certain people here having a go at my long and winding posts

[tomblackford]

So much more to add from intimate knowledge of these arms, but risk of certain people here having a go at my long and winding posts

Well I always enjoy them, and this is GREAT information. Feel free to keep it coming, as long as it's not a hassle...

Yeah, it's a fixed headshell.

Any thoughts on the AT440MLa?

In theory we might be able to go a bit upmarket from either that or the Shure me97XE, if we thought it was worth it (the new cart could be done on insurance, so I guess would need to be similar range to the DL160 it was replacing - I'll check that with insurer though).

[Daniel Quinn]

Ask for money equivalent and then put to .

[Classicrock]

The net will tell you .

a] most people recommend shure or good moving magnets
b] those people who have tried moving coils are happy.
c] there is debate over which is best .

There is no debate about the SME 'improved' version with a fixed head shell. You can get away with MC on non improved versions.

[tomblackford]

The net will tell you .

a] most people recommend shure or good moving magnets
b] those people who have tried moving coils are happy.
c] there is debate over which is best .

There is no debate about the SME 'improved' version with a fixed head shell. You can get away with MC on non improved versions.

So I understand, and I guess the physics speaks for itself, although it's worth bearing in mind that the old DL-160 (high output moving coil) did sound rather good on this arm, at least to me...

Do you think the Fluid Damper, or possibly the black gak between the cartridge and the headshell (which must add some weight at the headshell) has any effect on things in this regard?

[Classicrock]

The net will tell you .

a] most people recommend shure or good moving magnets
b] those people who have tried moving coils are happy.
c] there is debate over which is best .

There is no debate about the SME 'improved' version with a fixed head shell. You can get away with MC on non improved versions.

So I understand, and I guess the physics speaks for itself, although it's worth bearing in mind that the old DL-160 (high output moving coil) did sound rather good on this arm, at least to me...

Do you think the Fluid Damper, or possibly the black gak between the cartridge and the headshell (which must add some weight at the headshell) has any effect on things in this regard?

I would guess the 160 is unusual and has a high compliance for a MC. Adding weight to the head shell and balancing with a heavier counterweight might enable it to be more compatible with MCs but why bother?

[_D_S_J_R_]

The black goo is mandatory - have I not said this before? Most arms of this model had a void between the cartridge top and headshell top which the good nicely fills to audible benefit with all the cartridges I tried it on. Very late arms had a thicker headshell material with a totally flat top, the finger lift was firmly riveted to the side of the shell, although I'd still have used a tiny amount of the black-tac stuff.

The FD200 damper is a great idea ime, just use baby oil instead of the viscous goo that SME supplied and a small paddle..

AT440MLa? Yeah, but it favours hf to bass even more than the 120E. I wish I knew how good a Sumiko Blue Point 2 is...

[jammy395]

Oooo er Tom.........Sounds like you should use a mc or get a new arm....This could cost ya.

You should have set fire to yer TT and blamed it on a drunken Budgie, or simply fitted a Goldie 1042....compliance my arse.

Ask a simple question, toss and turn at night.