Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

SME’s flagship Model 60 [HFN Jul ’22] proved to be the most pitch-stable belt-driven deck we have tested, and the Model 35 is cut from the same technical ‘cloth’. The Model 60’s 24-pole AC motor solution is combined here with the 4.6kg alloy platter and 19mm silicone-damped sintered bronze bearing first seen in the Model 20/3 [HFN Mar ’11]. The motor, flat rubber belt and sub-platter are very closely coupled in the Model 35 so start-up time is swift, requiring a mere 2-3 seconds to achieve 33.33rpm. In practice this was 33.34rpm without resorting to the DSP-driven PSU’s speed adjustment facility – an error of just +0.01%! Again, the peak-wtd wow [see Graph 1, below] is comparable with the best of today’s direct-drive offerings, showing a minor wow at ±3Hz and flutter at ±10Hz but these amounting to no more than a peak-wtd 0.015% and 0.03%, respectively. Through-groove and bearing rumble lie between –73dB and –74dB (DIN-B wtd, re. 5cm/sec) – the clamp pressing slightly warped LPs home without coupling bearing noise into the groove substrate.

The new ‘Series V improved’ tonearm is derived from the VA design fitted to the Model 60, combining SME’s tried-and-tested magnesium alloy bearing yoke and ABEC 7 ballraces with a CNC-machined hard polymer tube. The legacy spring-loaded downforce gauge is precisely calibrated (1g = 0.95g and 2g = 2.0g), friction is <5mg in both planes while the main beam resonance is slightly higher in frequency and more ‘cleanly’ defined than in the older metal tubes at 160Hz, with harmonic/twisting modes at 365Hz, 550Hz, 656Hz, 740Hz and 990Hz [see CSD waterfall, Graph 2]. The new polymer armtube also brings the overall effective mass down to ~10g, making the Series Vi better suited to higher compliance pick-ups. PM