I do see the possibility of moving up to a 30/12 at some future time, particularly if a well priced used one should present itself.
Sme Turntables
- Thread starter 108CY
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I recently saw two used 30/12s on Audiogon selling for what is about half retail in the US.
PeterA, thanks for your photos which gave me the answer to where to place the power supply to my new SME 20/3a which is being delivered this week. It is replacing my old Oracle Delphi III, so my first new TT in 25 years; we will hear how the technology has evolved.
Congratulations Cascais. I know you will enjoy your new SME. Please post some photos when it is up and running.
Unfortunately no Peter. I'm still waiting on an arm. Getting a little antsy with the two boxes containing the AF2 sitting on my garage floor for me to look at every time I pull in. Hopefully I'm going to see something by next week.
The Beast Arrives - setting up the SME 20/3A
As requested here are some photos from the set-up of my new SME 20/3A which arrived this week after a 4-month wait. My dealer in Lisbon brought Senhor Pereira, their expert set-up man, from Porto to do the work, accompanied by Pedro, my adviser on things audio. That is the kind of service I'm used to in Portugal unlike some North American dealers who sell you something and maybe help you to the car. The wait was worth it as the new turntable is amazing, far out-performing my old Oracle Delphi III which I thought was great. The SME transforms familiar records with its weight, slam, finesse, and smoothness. A small problem involved scuff marks on the platter which SME is going to resolve by sending a replacement. Altogether positive experience. Even the much maligned soft cover works well after devising a system for applying it without breaking the cartridge.
As requested here are some photos from the set-up of my new SME 20/3A which arrived this week after a 4-month wait. My dealer in Lisbon brought Senhor Pereira, their expert set-up man, from Porto to do the work, accompanied by Pedro, my adviser on things audio. That is the kind of service I'm used to in Portugal unlike some North American dealers who sell you something and maybe help you to the car. The wait was worth it as the new turntable is amazing, far out-performing my old Oracle Delphi III which I thought was great. The SME transforms familiar records with its weight, slam, finesse, and smoothness. A small problem involved scuff marks on the platter which SME is going to resolve by sending a replacement. Altogether positive experience. Even the much maligned soft cover works well after devising a system for applying it without breaking the cartridge.
Here are pictures of the SME 20 in its final setting. It is sitting above an EMM Labs XDS1-V2 which is a pretty formidable digital front end, but I am not prepared to judge which is better at this point, although I have my suspicions. Listening to analogue is a different experience than to digital, and I enjoy the strong points of each.
Congratulations! I also have the same EMM, it is very good, I am sure your analog gear when it fully settles should outperform.
Thank you. Already happening I think although the XDS1-V2 is a very good machine as you know.
Congratulations again, Cascais. That is a wonderful table and I appreciate seeing the photos. If the cartridge and phono cable are new, they will take some time to break in. I also ran my 30/12 24/7 for a week to run in the bearing. In time, you may want to experiment with dynamic versus static VTF. My impression is that the new 20/3 is the highest value and best buy in the entire range of SME turntables. You will certainly enjoy it.
Thank you PeterA. I'm currently listening to Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas, and frankly I have never heard it like this and used to think that my Oracle was as good as analogue got. Got that wrong. You make a good point about the phono cable burning in although the Skala was carried over from the old table. Michael Fremer agrees about the Model 20/3 which he calls the sweet spot in the SME range. Glad you like the photos of Senhor Pereira at work and that all I had to do was snap some photos.
Thanks jfrech for the compliment; it is a fairly simple system but very dynamic particularly now with the new addition. There is quite a bit of difference between the model 20/2 and the 3 which has bulked up closer to the model 30. I am enjoying now the smoothness and lack of grain of the new table.
I have an SME 20/12 with the SME V12 arm. The motor controller is not turning on. I used it just yesterday. Not sure what’s wrong. Checked the outlets etc.
if you have a dedicated circuit to the turntable outlet, check the breaker. If that’s OK check all the connections to the motor into the controller something may have come unplugged. If those are all OK call your dealer or contact SME directly.
Contacted SME in England and they suggested shipping it back. So, it’s off today via FedEx. Hope I get it back before too long.
Heard back from SME today. It was a busted circuit board. Will cost me 450 pounds to get repaired and replaced. Hopefully should get it back soon so I can enjoy my 20/12 with the V12 arm and a Koetsu Onyx Agate Platinum again. It still sounds more enjoyable to me than any digital DAC I’ve heard, including my Lampizator Pacific.
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