A study in SME 20/2

[PHC1]

Part VII.

Time to spin some vinyl and see what we got.

I decided to spin the Dire Strats first as that was the last record I listened to when my Clearaudio was packed up and shipped off to a new home.


By this time the Lamm amps and preamp were nice and toasty and ready to play. I switched on the EAR phonostage, placed the record on the platter, used the excellent SME reflex clamp to press the record down on the platter and dropped the stylus on to the lead in groove..

Surprisingly, the volume was much lower than where I would usually listen to the Clearaudio table... Hmmm, I gave my Lamm LL2D another 4 clicks on the dual volume pots and sat down to listen.

As many of you know that I have a different pair of speakers now, it is not as easy to compare and contrast because ultimately the differences in tables is mixed in with the differences in speakers now. The Cremona Ms and Wilson Sasha's are a bit of a different flavor. The difference in gain also had me puzzled so I couldn't concentrate on the sound as I was trying to figure out where the handful of dBs of gain dissapeared.

I decided to let the table play a few record sides and see what happens. Low and behold, the volume started getting back into the range and I had to compensate by turning the volume down a click at a time.

After about 45 min or so, I was within a click of where I used to be. I don't have an explanation for this one. It could have been the cold phono stage that needed to charge up its caps after being off for a few weeks at least, although I have not noticed it doing that before or it could have been the brand new Van den Hull tonearm cable that needed to charge up the dialectric. Who knows with these things...

In any case, once I stopped pondering over the loss of gain, I started listening to music. I noticed the dynamics were a bit softer than what I was used to with the Clearaudio table..

Tried adjusting the loading but ultimately returned to my previous setting for the XX2MKII that worked well on the Satisfy Arm.

Ok, as much as I wanted to listen to music, I needed to get this table back into action and get my rich, dynamic sound back that I had with the Clearaudio table so I pulled the Hi Fi test LP off the shelf and started running the tests.

Having tested the azimuth, the resonance of the cart/tonearm which was incredibly impressive as compared to the Satisfy/XX2MKII combo, much less vibration and lower at 11 Hz, tracking ability (very good), dialing in the anti-skate, I remembered Jeff telling me about the damping adjustment.

SME V has a damping reservoir that is filled with silicone and there is an adjustment screw to adjust the amount of dampening. I tweaked the damping just a bit and went back to listening to music.

Listening to a few more tracks, I decided it was time to play with VTF and VTA. I dialed in .1 gm more VTF and raised the VTA just 1 mm as the SRA (Stylus Rake Angle) looked a bit lower than it was before just by eyeballing it.

Bingo!!!!

[1KW]

Serge,

Now your talking Congratulations on the new SME 20 TT and tone arm. The pictures look nice Enjoy

[PHC1]

Part VIII.

Now I am happy.

Having done all the above tweaking and testing, I was finally rewarded with a very rich, dynamic (to the extent of difference between speakers), emotional and totally mesmorizing and satisfying sound, much like I heard at a Sumiko presentation once and fell in love with.

After spinning a few more of my favorite records I was able to slowly dissect the sound and compare and contrast betweent the two tables making mental adjustments for the difference in speakers with the Cremona Ms being rather new to my system and Sashas clearly engraved into my memory.

So what does the extra $$$ get you between the tables with the same Dynavector XX2MKII cart? An even more focused, solid image presentation, a smoother, slightly darker sound which is more engaging, emotional response evoking and satisfying to the bone. Bass is stupendous with this table but the Clearaudio was no lightweight either. The transients, attack and decay are more organic and natural sounding, less sharp overall but more real. There is a blacker, deeper and voluminous background that breathes with ambiance and spatial cues, acoustic space reproduction is more defined and easier to "feel". The highs are smooth and perhaps a bit less pronounced/softer but I don't mind this at all.

I'd say this table is a bit less extraverted a bit more ying than yang than Clearaudio but is ultimately more musical while giving up nothing in resolution, transparency, drive, PRAT but it is the kind of table that will not impress as much during a quick audition but instead at a slower and steadier pace make you sit down, shut up, listen and fall in love....

Love it.

Having said all of the above, now that I have had a chance to compare a rather entry level but quality table like Clearaudio Performance with Satisfy carbon tonearm and a much more expensive SME20/2 with the best tonearm they make in my own system, I have to say that the law of diminishing returns is pretty steep with tables as well. I've mentioned before that Clearaudio tweaked out with Gingko Cloud platform, center weight, periphery clamp, carbon fiber platter is a really, really impressive table for the money. I would not hesitate to recommend it as the first table and one that can be in one's system for a very long time before the urge to upgrade takes over.

The SME 20/2/V arm is not a budget table by any means, it has much, much competition out there and there are plenty of choices. I've heard a few in relatively the same price range and some tables appealed to me more than others and I could have easily picked and lived with a few others. I am happy with the SME so far. But... if you are going to spend this kind of money, take your time, audition, take system synergy into consideration and choose wisely. You can't go wrong with SME, it looks very well engineered and quality built but there are others out there that are also pretty spectacular. Somehow I doubt this is the end of the road for me and not because I find something lacking but because of my nature and curiosity when it comes to these things.

The End for now.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Part VIII.

Somehow I doubt this is the end of the road for me

I'll take it

[KMC45]

Looks good.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Stillone

Only 3 pics so far. You are such a tease.

I have been talking to my dealer about a 20/2. If the market keeps going like the first quarter, I may pull the trigger.

Let's hope so. Put a little more $$$ in just in case and go straight for the SME30.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

Sweet table Did you decide for no finger lift?

Jeff

Common Jeff, finger lifts are for sissies.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......As usual, spectacular photographs, and play by play narration. Such a beautiful turntable, and top of the line tonearm. The Dynavector looks so sweet mounted on that arm. I have no doubt, once dialed in, this will be a premium rig that will provide you with state of the art vinyl playback.

Glad you enjoyed the pics and narration Dan. It does look and sound like a premium rig and I haven't even started the tweaks yet. Let the tweaking begin!

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Serge,

Now your talking Congratulations on the new SME 20 TT and tone arm. The pictures look nice Enjoy

Thanks David. You'll get to hear it when you pick up the Power Plant.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I'll take it

You missed the Clearaudio. You snooze, you lose...