SME tonearm upgrade 3009 to 3012

[stevieboy]

Anyone here heard anything about the SME armtube upgrade kit that sells on ebay for $400? http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=170798018824&index=6&nav=SEARCH&nid=93040664563

The armtube alone is $150 and am thinking of getting it to transform the 3009 I have into a 3012. Then all I need is a counterweight for heavier carts I'll have to see if the rider wayrod and rider weights are the same. The seller will let me know the weight of the armtube.

Edit: a link that led me to this kit http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-298627.html

Torque ain't cheap but it sure knocks yer socks off

 

[arj]

Anyone here heard anything about the SME armtube upgrade kit that sells on ebay for $400? http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=170798018824&index=6&nav=SEARCH&nid=93040664563

The armtube alone is $150 and am thinking of getting it to transform the 3009 I have into a 3012. Then all I need is a counterweight for heavier carts I'll have to see if the rider wayrod and rider weights are the same. The seller will let me know the weight of the armtube.

Edit: a link that led me to this kit Convert an SME 3009 to a 3012? [Archive] - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Torque ain't cheap but it sure knocks yer socks off

Stevie is the difference between the 3012 and 3009 only in the armtube ?

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Arj,

Yes both the series II same except for the armtube and heavier counterweight. Not sure bout the rider weights have to check mine to see but I think they're the same.

Regards


Torque ain't cheap but it sure knocks yer socks off

 

[Finyl Vinyl]

Stevie, I was mucking around with the same idea. I think the knife edge also needs to be changed along with the weights and way rod. Plus I would imagine the bias weight and anti skate too and throw in the wiring as well for good measure.

"Why fix it when it ain't broke"-Old Jungle Saying

 

[sachi]

So does this mean that you don't change the arm board mounting plate?

Just replace the arm tube, knife edge bearing (is it the same as the 3009 series 2 ?) and rider weight?

Also Steve, if you don't mind me asking in this thread, what cart do you suggest for the 3009 series 2?

Also, isn't 400$ spendy for the conversion? How good is an original 3012 arm?

 

[jls001]

How good is an original 3012 arm?

Malvai is rebuilding a 3012. So am I. We should be able to give you informed opinions soon enough.

Meanwhile, Gerald's uncle should be able to opine on the question at hand.

@Gerald's uncle: over to you

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Sachi,

If you mean the Sme rectangular baseplate then no, no need to change. Only mounting distance changes. The knife edge also should be same, the non improved SME has the good steel bearing no need to upgrade. I'll dig out my 3009 tomorrow to confirm things. The SME leaflet manual I have has one set of instructions for both with a line in the beginning saying the 3009 is 9" and 3012 is 12".

The original 3012 series II is very good, easy going by nature. If you got a 3009 and a 3012, 150 bucks for the armtube is a doable experiment at the very least it should sound better than the 9" I'm betting cos the majority of the sound will be down to the knife edge bearing. The guy would have matched up the armtube pretty close I think. Will have to test this theory though.

Regarding carts the usual denon 103, spu also if yours is series II non improved. Quite flexible from low to higher compliance carts depending on which cart house sound you like and you can easily build a database of reference on this from the many users online as you read more. You can buy heavier headshells for the low compliance carts like the denon 103.

With my heavy 3012 even the highly compliant ortofon om5e is doing fine. I've quite forgotten the research I did on carts for 3009 cos I concentrated on the 3012. Will see my bookmarks if I can dig up something.

Regards


Edit : if rajiv does not chime in here you should pm him. He's got a bunch of top notch arms and should be able to shed light on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the SME arm

Torque ain't cheap but it sure knocks yer socks off

 

[stevieboy]

Stevie, I was mucking around with the same idea. I think the knife edge also needs to be changed along with the weights and way rod. Plus I would imagine the bias weight and anti skate too and throw in the wiring as well for good measure.

"Why fix it when it ain't broke"-Old Jungle Saying

For your arm Vinyl, yup you'd have to change the knife edge too and get a new wayrod and heavier twin riderweight. You might not be able to use the Shure V15 then, though you'd have other choices opening up.

 

[stevieboy]

Ok got a reply back. The armtube is 29g! Which makes it more like the Series I 3012, heavier than then 3012 Series II. The Series I was supposed to sound superb with SPUs and heavier weight low compliance carts, so it seems like a good cinderella project...

Sachi if you're considering this, all you'd need is the armtube, the rear stub, the counterweight. You can use your existing Series II 3009 steel knife edge, and the wayrod and rider weight, picking up an additional rider weight from ebay for heavier carts. Your SME 3009 is non improved right?

 

[sachi]

Hey Steve,

Nope not looking to do this anytime soon. Still very much anovice when it comes to spinning dics..maybe in a year if I am still into this . just my curiosity for now.