flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
What’s wrong with Yorkshire and its sheds? Wharfedale and Sugden probably started in them. Also aesthetics are a personal choice, I think it looks OK, still prefer an LP12 though. Calling it crap is just crass.
SME Model 60 coming up, apparently
- Thread starter vln
- Start date
Bairnstorm
pfm Member
I think it looks like a Fisher Price.
pocketkitchen
Registered User
There’s nothing in that machinery that a bloke would have in a shed. I’ve been to a lot of hifi factories and none of them have the kind of engineering capabilities that SME do, with that level of QC.
Tony L
Administrator
There are few companies that could even make a 1959 3009 or 3012 to be honest. SME’s fit and finish has always been stunning. German or Japanese camera-level good.
The thing that surprised me is just how much machine time looks to be in the VA arm-tube. I guess real high-end audio is such a niche market these days it doesn’t matter if it takes hours to come out of the CNC machine and needs repositioning multiple times. Contrast with say a standard V or Rega RBxxx which I assume are injection-moulded.
pocketkitchen
Registered User
RBxxx are injection mounded, yes. There’s a lot of engineering there, too, but some of what was just on display was unlike anything else I’ve seen at hifi manufacturers in-house facilities.
The new arm tube is a real surprise and it’s also really nice to hear a Wirral accent from the MD. Northerners rule!
The new arm tube is a real surprise and it’s also really nice to hear a Wirral accent from the MD. Northerners rule!
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
Because it's fairly evident that those sheds don't produce stylish products that stand up to a modern society. It's a complete dog quite frankly, and the engineering aspects needed a proper designer to combine the quality in that respect with some kurb appeal. The folk who buy ageing fugly stuff like this are dying out, it's not a way to create brand longevity from a marketing pov. But, they probably make £49k on every sale, so I imagine longevity is in the profit not the product.
Crass is fine by me!
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
Wow, so you’re committed to modern kit, made for the kurb appeal of the stylish youth of today. Guess my LP12 and Sara’s are just ‘grandad’.
Might help to understand your comments if you could list your hi Fi system.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
You've missed the point, however regardless of that, I do like nice design yes. I design my surroundings as I spend more time in them than I don't, and I wouldn't want to put that fugly 50k thing in my room with me. Yeah an LP12 definitely wouldn't make my living room either, but it's better looking than this SME thing and it doesn't cost 50k either. While its a subjective philosophy, there's a certain level of design required at that price range. If I showed some of my clients something that resembled that and told them what it would cost, I'd be laughed out of the room.
You don't go looking for a Ferrari and be content with one that looks like a Nissan Micra even if it goes just as fast.
I don't own a single component that is valued at £50k so expectations are not as high, but you could add a kit section to the members profile like the Wam do if it interests you enough. I've spoken about my kit many times on the forum, the search engine can be precious sometimes.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
That video is just full of clueless, bullshit bingo, engineering throaways. The traffo doesn't needn't be more than 20cm from the cart, what's the point, the motor has a far stronger radiated field at a much higher frequency, its just nonsense. A potentially decent product spoilt by shit presentation.
pocketkitchen
Registered User
I’m not sure SMEs first choice would have been for that to be released like that. They can’t really tell MF not to come. He’s very influential in the uber high end market. The visit was a standard “journo does factory” and I’m sure they’d much rather have been able to edit out bits that came across as nervous or repetitive. I’ll have a listen and make my mind up from that. I’m hardly the target audience though and that will apply to most others too. It’s aimed at the 1% of the 1%.
dave charlton
pfm member
The engineering is impressive but I can't help looking at it (through my Rega influenced eyes) and thinking it all looks a bit unnecessary.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
One has to ask, £50k to (contribute) in playing a 50p piece of plastic.
Tony L
Administrator
I’d love to know exactly what Alistair Robert-Aikman would have thought, how he’d have presented it himself, or if it would ever have existed had he still been around. Annoyingly I can’t find any vintage footage of him on YouTube and I certainly never met him, so my only knowledge is of his work, which to my mind was entirely rational, logical and beautifully executed engineering served-up at a not at all unreasonable price. As an example I can’t see him being too impressed by the recent decision to lock tonearms into deck purchases given the hi-fi wing of SME (it was already an engineering company) was entirely built upon his genuinely radical tonearm designs. I suspect he’d not see much to relate to however good this turntable is ultimately.
PS Still no hint as to what SME is doing with the Garrard name either. They announced they were going to reissue the 301 in a Loricraft plinth with 12” arm for about £30k, but the only ones that have emerged seem to be real ones given a service and respray.
Darren L
Egalitarian
Watched the video, I'm impressed by the tooling, machines and software. I can see there's a lot of machine & operator hours goes into fabrication of the various parts.
It reminds me on a few of the Basis and VPI turntables of the past, impressive but nothing really new apart from the tonearm 'wand' manufacturer.
@Tony L there was an article & interview with ARA in Hifi News about 20-25 years ago featuring the music room in the video, there was pics of the wall of naked ESL'S behind the curtains, I don't remember the electronics but I'm pretty sure he was using the Model 30a as his source.
It reminds me on a few of the Basis and VPI turntables of the past, impressive but nothing really new apart from the tonearm 'wand' manufacturer.
@Tony L there was an article & interview with ARA in Hifi News about 20-25 years ago featuring the music room in the video, there was pics of the wall of naked ESL'S behind the curtains, I don't remember the electronics but I'm pretty sure he was using the Model 30a as his source.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
For that money, I think the Kronos is better looking, and the best-sounding turntable I've heard, by quite some margin so the SME would have to go some to persuade me away from one (if I had the funds). As it is, and as others have said upthread, I think it looks like a clumsy VPI-influenced design and I think the Prime Signature is a much better looking TT, at a tenth of the price.
And the VPI includes a 3D printed composite tonearm too.
And the VPI includes a 3D printed composite tonearm too.
The SME 30 was a super expensive TT & launched during ARA’s tenure so he wasn’t averse to an elevated price point.
Personally I always liked the form following function of the ‘classic’ SME decks. If I had the money lying around I would definitely buy either 10, 20 or 30 just as a piece of engineering.
Personally I always liked the form following function of the ‘classic’ SME decks. If I had the money lying around I would definitely buy either 10, 20 or 30 just as a piece of engineering.
InSides
dŵr
Weird that this is the same company that made both the 3012 and the V (magnesium casting was out of this world when it first came out - and still an arm I would love to own at some point int time). Yeah, I don't like the SME 60, but as someone else said, I am not the intended audience.
I did love the SME 30, though.
SME have always invested a lot in precision measurements (go Mitutoyo!) as they are (in my mind) a precision engineering firm first, and turntable maker second. I love the use of precise measurement, but to me it seems done more for the sake of marketing than actual performance.
Well, they took more than a few design pointers from SME, so...
I did love the SME 30, though.
SME have always invested a lot in precision measurements (go Mitutoyo!) as they are (in my mind) a precision engineering firm first, and turntable maker second. I love the use of precise measurement, but to me it seems done more for the sake of marketing than actual performance.
Well, they took more than a few design pointers from SME, so...
Theo
pfm Member
I started off by not liking the bare aluminium model, and I'm ambivalent about the blue iteration: however, the all-black version at the end of the video makes more sense aesthetically. The quick view of the 30 shows how streamlined the new design is in comparison. Unlike Sue, I prefer the look of the all black model to the Kronos: it's more restrained by comparison.
Would I buy one? At £50k, of course not. Would I like one? Damn right I would.
Would I buy one? At £50k, of course not. Would I like one? Damn right I would.
I've just started the video - what on earth is that "honeycombed machined" finish about?
It's all a mess TBH - different fonts, graphics, rads, chamfers, finishes, proportions between all of their turntables - just all very odd.
Also a shame that the designer/engineer spinning the CAD doesn't appear to know how to surface model correctly as the transitions between the armtube and headshell could've been smoother still.
It's all a mess TBH - different fonts, graphics, rads, chamfers, finishes, proportions between all of their turntables - just all very odd.
Also a shame that the designer/engineer spinning the CAD doesn't appear to know how to surface model correctly as the transitions between the armtube and headshell could've been smoother still.
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