Found an SME tonearm in house clearance

6and8

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Jan 20, 2014
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My girlfriend's son had been clearing his deceased grandfather's house in readiness for sale. He handed me a box he'd found in the attic saying, you're into hifi, if it's of any use you can have it. It was an SME 3009 series 2 in its original box. I've never owned an SME tonearm, I don't know anything about them other than people who know far more about hifi equipment than me really rate them. From the little research I've done, I gather it's an entry level SME. So, could I use it with my Pink Triangle LPT? Is it a better arm than my Origin Live upgraded RB300?
 
6and8 said:
My girlfriend's son had been clearing his deceased grandfather's house in readiness for sale. He handed me a box he'd found in the attic saying, you're into hifi, if it's of any use you can have it. It was an SME 3009 series 2 in its original box. I've never owned an SME tonearm, I don't know anything about them other than people who know far more about hifi equipment than me really rate them. From the little research I've done, I gather it's an entry level SME. So, could I use it with my Pink Triangle LPT? Is it a better arm than my Origin Live upgraded RB300?

Nice find. It's an old tonearm but a classic. Many variations, see this article to find out which exactly you have.

http://www.analogue-classics.com/html/sme_3009___3012.html

Whether it's better than your RB300 is debatable as you may find it tricky to match it to a modern cartridge.

You will have difficulty fitting a SME to the LPT as it doesn't have the facility to interchange base plates. Sell it on along with the RB300 and buy a second-hand Origin Live tonearm if you want to upgrade. It needs to be something with the original Rega column fitting.
 

6and8

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Jan 20, 2014
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It says on the box:

model 3009 series ll improved non-detachable shell.

I've been told they go for about £200, I think I'll hang on to it for a bit, until I decide to upgrade, and then trade it against something else. Which may be a while as I'm still enjoying my Origin Live upgraded RB300 and my next cartridge upgrade, Nagaoka MP200, only arrived in the post yesterday.

But as you say, a nice find.
 
6and8 said:
It says on the box:

model 3009 series ll improved non-detachable shell.

I've been told they go for about £200, I think I'll hang on to it for a bit, until I decide to upgrade, and then trade it against something else. Which may be a while as I'm still enjoying my Origin Live upgraded RB300 and my next cartridge upgrade, Nagaoka MP200, only arrived in the post yesterday.

But as you say, a nice find.

Wish I had one in my attic. :)

I guess that figure is about right, if you are lucky it could be more like £300+ if complete and in good condition, you can always check what they have gone for in the past eBay. Enjoy what you have. Should be a nice combo with that cartridge.
 

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