As the opening bars of ‘Kiss this thing goodbye’ rang out through the ATC SCM40’s (driven by NAC82/HICAP/NAP250) the sound was so much more ‘in the room’. Now my copy of ‘Waking Hours’ originates from the start of my second year at Birmingham University in 1989 and was the soundtrack to numerous parties seductions and breakups over the years so it’s far from pristine but immediately I was struck by a seeming reduction in surface noise. So with a glass of oaky spanish Batturica Tarragona Gran Reserva poured I lowered the beautifully damped lever of the SME IV, the Audio Technica AT-OC9 MLII slipped gently into the groove and I took my seat for this evening’s performance. There’s nothing superfluous on a Gyrodec, its beautiful form is entirely driven by function and it’s one of the reasons I have loved it for even longer than the SME. Its mechanical precision is a perfect compliment to a the Gyrodec which is itself a deck that reflects its designer’s fundamental understanding of turntable engineering. The SME visually is a masterpiece of engineering excellence, flawless in its finish and incredibly beautiful. They are one of the few bands whose albums I enjoy all the way through, there’s no filler tracks here! They are carefully crafted and well recorded albums that reward critical listening and I know them intimately. If beautifully crafted, lyrically intelligent, melodic rock with a celtic leaning is your thing then you owe it to yourself to explore their half dozen albums. Del Amitri were very much the soundtrack of my student years and are a band I still completely adore to this day. I thought long and hard about what record to choose first and in the end settled on Del Amitri’s second album ‘Waking Hours’. To be honest I suspected before fitting it that replacing a Rega RB600 with an SME IV was likely going to be pushing deep into diminishing returns territory. As I have never parted with a hi-fi magazine and have an extensive collection in the loft I have been able to retrieve my copy since buying the arm My enthusiasm for the SME IV all started when it graced the front cover of HI-Fi News magazine in July 1987.
Even the installation instructions are wonderfully clear and illustrated every step of the way with good photographs.
Everything about it exudes class, from the packaging to the beatifully machined tools that accompany it and are branded SME. So with much excitement I collected my SME and have spent a pleasant few hours fitting it to the Gyrodec MK IV. She jokingly asked if that would be ‘all right for Christmas?’ I replied it would do for the next 20!! When she pointed out that it would be something I would always keep that would remind me of her whenever I played a record while she is here and after she has gone I realised it is a wonderful way to remember her. We had lunch and I had told her about SME, not I hasten to add because I had any hidden agenda but merely in conversation and she remembered my passion! I was thus completely unprepared for her offer later that afternoon to provide the funding for it!! I refused her very kind offer initially because it didn’t feel right. Bizarrely this was all made possible by my Mother who I haven’t financially depended on for handouts since I was a student 30 years ago!
SME TONEARM HISTORY SERIES
Happily I have just secured one of the last available SME Series IV arms before they disappear altogether. I wrote to ARA once asking for a job after university and received the kindest of replies back. Factory service and spare parts support for tonearm owners will continue.
Whilst no new orders for individual tonearms will be accepted from the issue date of this product announcement, all obligations of the warranty will be honoured. This tradition of tonearm manufacturing will continue with the manufacture of our highly accredited tonearms for the purpose of coupling with our comprehensive range of high-end precision turntables in which SME will be expanding in 2020. SME has designed, engineered and manufactured tonearms for retail and OEM sales since 1959 and achieved international recognition as makers of the best pick-up arms in the world. The growth of our turntable business and commitment to higher production levels means that we cannot continue both streams. The decision to leave the tonearm business was not taken lightly, especially as we have played a key role in the design and development of the world’s best tonearms.
SME will exit the tonearm retail and OEM business with immediate effect shifting our focus on our core turntable and tonearm combination business. As a lifelon fan of SME arms who has spent his whole life dreaming of putting an SME IV on my Gyrodec I am shocked and saddened to hear that SME are to cease selling tonearms except with their own turntables.