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Model: | 3009 IIIs |
Category: | Tone Arms |
Suggested Retail Price: | market price |
Description: | SME 3009 IIIs tonearm |
Manufacturer URL: | S.M.E |
Review by darkstar (A) on November 07, 2004 at 18:23:17 IP Address: 216.17.47.208 | Add Your Review for the 3009 IIIs |
Odd that despite the volume of posts related to the SME 3009 IIIs tonearm, there are no reviews yet posted. Of course the fact that the tonearm is no longer produced and therefore is the purchase of a used piece of equipment, with all the faults that flesh is err to.I wish someone that could do a better job than I took on this review; but someone has to start.
My background with tonearms extends mostly to tonearms fixed to various TTs, ala a Beogram 3400, Thorens 165, AR, and the like. Not that people haven't changed tonearms in those models, I'm sure they have; I just never did.
So in my first Thorens TD-125MkII turntable I eventually decided to upgrade the TP-16 to an SME. Of course a new SME was out of the question, so the decision became based primarily upon what became available on the used market within the timeframe that I hoped to do this.
The SME 3009 took longer to get here than the cherrywood armboard, but all in all they showed up just in time.
The IIIs is a finicky tonearm. The previous owner, in thick accent, told me that I needed to adjust, adjust, adjust.
This I happily did. I balanced and measured and tweaked and poked that tonearm until my insatiable desire to poke and tweak and measure and balance was greatly satisfied.
My version had the fluid damping, which is not present on all the models floating around. This part was nice, but the darn fluid got all over the arm lifter mushroom and made the arm slip about a lot while raising and lowering. My only complaint, BTW, about this tonearm.
The reason I am writing this review now is that I have subsequently pooched the armwand on the IIIs and have since acquired a 3009 II improved. Not a big jump either direction, I'm sure you would think, but more than I imagined.
The 3009 IIIs has the most refined presentation that I have heard, on all the tables I've listened to, as I listed above. When dialed in, the arm extracted every nuance of music out of those grooves.
I listen to female vocals a lot, a real lot, and Maria Muldaur and Linda Ronstadt are two of my favorites. I listen to these ladies so much every moment of my favorites of theirs are ingrained in my psyche.
"Midnight at the Oasis" made my skin shiver and the ultimate seductiveness of the lyrics came through like Maria was in my.. ahem, living room. Trite but valid.
I could find nuances in Neil Young's "On the Beach" between three electric guitars that redefine the word retrieval.
I should mention the associated equipment; the cartridge is the Garrott P-77, a steal at $200 from Needle Doctor. The preamp is AVA T-7, the amps Welborne Labs Laurel IIs, the speakers Klipschorn.
Product Weakness: | dial-in performance |
Product Strengths: | dial-in performance |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | Laurel II |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | T7 |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | TD125 |
Speakers: | Khorn |
Cables/Interconnects: | yes |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | female vocalist |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
I have a IIIs and I used it with the Shure V15xMR to great effect. Then I got a Denon DL-103. Believe it or not, with the heavier supplied headshell weight and a little lead tape on the arm, it worked and sounded great--much more musical than the Shure. Hi-fi marketing is mostly about fashion. The III series got caught in a fashion shift, and SME jumped on the new style. When they stopped supporting the older design, it became common "knowledge" that is was an inferior design among people who never even used the arm. If the Denon works, I'm sure that most medium compliance MC cartridges common today would be great matches with the III series, especially if you have the fluid damper.I guess with all this new found appreciation the price is going up, but I bought mine about 6 years ago for $100 new in the box!
I originally bought my SME III because an engineer at Ortofon recommended it as the best tonearm for their new top-of-the-line MC-2000 back in 1984. That cartridge was probably one of the first high-compliance moving coils and it worked beautifully in the SME Series III. The new Ortofon MC-2000 Mk II bears little relationship to the original.Anyway, I played that original MC-2000 for 10-years before buying an OC9 as a replacement because I could no longer afford the cost of an expensive high-end cartridges. After playing the OC9 for about 5-years, I replaced it with a Denon DL-301/II. All these cartridges worked exceptionally well in my SME III.
I think the SME III is a very versatile tonearm, which can accommodate a wide a variety of cartridges. Although it is a low mass design, it can be easily configured to a medium mass tonearm by inserting the appropriate headshell weight.
I've had a Series III since new. In many ways I believe it to be an outstanding arm, winning design council awards when first released, and as far as I know the first pickup arm to be engineered from exotique materials (titanium etc) coupled with innovative design features including the detachable arm and the method of fine adjustments.
I have always loved it, although I have only ever used it with a Shure V15-IV, sitting on my Girodec. The arm is most forgiving and for me has a very neutral sound and great clarity.
It is a shame that SME stopped supporting this arm. When I wanted to try the cartridge in the later arm tube with ceramic coating I had to resort to e-bay.
In the last year I have bought a SME V with an V-15 Xmr to go into a direct drive turntable by Luxman. The V is another beautiful example of the quality of engineering at SME and the combination offers a little more detail when playing than was evident to me from the SME III. If anything I regard the SME V more highly, but there wasn't alot in it for me; they are both superb arms, although frankly the SME III was far, far easier to setup.
I really enjoyed your post. I also owned a SME III and I also thought it was a fine tonearm—well designed, and of exceptional performance. Furthermore, I now own a SME V, and while I think the SME V is better, I think the SME III should be recognized as a bridge between the new and old. The SME III introduced a geometry that is accepted as the norm, nowadays. The SME III was my tonearm of choice for nearly 20-years. SME is a great company. I would own no other tonearm, because the SME V is simply the best tonearm in the world for its performance to price ratio.
I find myself in agreement with what you say without reservation.
I recognise that there are a lot of very fine tonearms around today, although I do find it a little astonishing that some are still made without any VTA of note. For me the SME III was a magnificent piece of engineering, bordering on art and beneath the skin, and especially at the time of its release, there was just NOTHING like it anywhere in the world.
The irony is that my III gets very little use now. The SME V is a great arm but upon its release I baulked at it (and the IV before it) and it was some years before I took the plunge.
I wasn't disappointed, but I still love the III.
I would send you a pic of my pride & joy but I'm new here and all fingers and thumbs and can't seem to work out how to do it....must be getting old.
regards
I have this arm, with the damping kit (no spillage problems, but I installed it myself on an existing arm) and like it a lot. The arm features replaceable armtubes which make it fairly easy to switch cartridges. The use of RCA jacks in the armbase also makes it easy to switch interconnects. I believe the IIIs is particularly synergisic with high compliance carts like the ADC XLM Mk II, my current favorite. It should be noted, though that the cart must be reasonably small (avoid Grado woodies) or it won't fit on the arm tube's mounting area.Others seem to have "discovered" this arm since I bought mine on Ebay -- the prices for Series III arms and armtubes have increased quite a bit.
And yes, if you're not willing to play with and fine-tune the myriad adjustments, don't mess with this arm. It's not exactly plug-n-play.
I have this arm together with a Shure V15/5 mounted on a JBS/S3 player....its plays magic !!!
don't tell anybody how good a SME3009/3 is, keep this secret to yourself !!
I have the IIIs arm, mated with an Audio Technica AT440ML cartridge and love the combination; lively, nuanced and musical. To wring even better performance, wrap the armtube with electrical tape (approximately 3/16" overlap), and ditch the rubber mounting grommets. I used four, 10-24 thru-threaded brass knurled knobs (arranged like miniature tip toe cones) in place of the grommets and fastened them tight against the armboard on my Kenwood KD-550. I believe these tweaks help to clear up some of mid-bass congestion that ails the stock setup.
I have an 'S' fitted to my Monitor ET500, it's been there since 1980, I've just bought an actual '111' rather than a 111S, so we'll see if there's any difference at all, I use a V15VxMR, it's beautiful. The greatest...best kept secret is the performance of the 111. I have an SME advertising blurb from its launch and the plaudits were just mesmeric...Voted best arm in the known world by just about everyone, then along came the fashion for an arm like a 'broomhandle' and it was doomed...I predict a comeback for this most delicate tonearm
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