SME – Model 30/12 Turntable With Series V-12 Tonearm **SCRATCH & DENT**

118-Pound SME Model 30/12 Turntable with Series V-12 Tonearm Takes You to the Analog Promised Land: Indescribably Great Neutrality, Impeccable Stability, Breathtaking Realism

A larger, heavier, and overall more massive version the company’s Model 30/2 turntable, the British-made SME Model 30/12 turntable accommodates nine-, 10-, and 12-inch tonearms to give you limitless mix-and-match flexibility and comes with the 12-inch Series V-12 tonearm for which it is purposely designed. Offering indescribably great neutrality, this 118-pound titan stands as both a structural marvel and uncompromising musical instrument capable of taking vinyl playback into unimaginable dimensions. And unlike many price-no-object garage-built ‘tables, the hand-built Model 30/12 backs up its talk via SME’s unimpeachable 70-year-plus heritage of meticulous craftsmanship.

Each and every piece on Model 30/12 is tooled to the highest tolerances and to meet the strictest specifications. Engineered to last a lifetime and furnish industry-leading reliability, the ‘table requires no critical adjustments or convoluted set-up processes. A 6.71-inch-long spindle with 0.75-inch diameter resides in a large sealed housing complete with individually sintered bronze bearings that provide unstinting support for the massive 13-inch, 17-pound platter. A substantial reflex clamp that ensures maximum contact with the platter even with warped LPs comes standard. Such architecture lends to the heartbeat-skipping dynamics, impeccable pitch stability, and three-dimensional liveliness that transform Model 30/12 into a miracle worker.

Such precedent-setting sonic acumen also owes to Model 30/12’s breathtaking neutrality. Its ultra-thick subchassis remains devoid of a sonic footprint courtesy of being suspended by a whopping 120 strands of rubber in the form of 60 purpose-molded “”O”” rings. The employed damping methods are equally ingenious. Four fluid dampers, one in each of the support columns, eliminate overshoot and give nearly zero Q recovery. Isolation from acoustic feedback is achieved by the resistive coupling of the damping fluid, through which unwanted reacted energy gets transferred to a ground. Better still, you can adjust such functionality by way of trimmers that can be used in conjunction with a gauge to suit individual conditions or recommended settings.

SME’s uncompromising drive mechanism attains similar righteousness. A three-phase, six-pulse, brushless outrunner motor with eight-pole neodymium magnets and three integrated Hall effect sensors, it remains practically vibration-free due to its 5.5-pound weight and isolation upon adjustable urethane mounts. The electronic speed control – fueled by a high-grade microprocessor and a proportional plus integral (PI) algorithm – allows for fine pitch-speed adjustments of +/-0.01% across the 33, 45, and 78RPM spectrum.

While the individual aspects of Model 30/12 are alone worth several dissertations, so is the thrilling Series V-12 tonearm. In terms of angular error distortion, Series V-12 offers 27% better performance than a nine-inch arm – even that of its beloved brother, Series V. The ultra-stiff design transcends convention by delivering performance that’s more in line with that of a master tape than a vinyl LP. It boasts staggering dynamic range and reference-setting neutrality, practically ending the issue of structural resonances that impact all other tonearms – and distract from the realism of your music. Series V-12 makes no detectable sound contribution of its own, leaving you simply with the performances embedded in the LP grooves.

The 12-inch Series V-12 has a one-piece, tapered, die-cast, self-damping magnesium arm tube that delivers advantages traditional fabricated-construction types cannot offer. Internal constrained-layer damping stunts minute residual vibration, leaving Series V-12 acoustically inert. A fine-machined, enamel-free cartridge platform to avoid interference, tungsten-alloy balance weight carried on damped two-point suspension, anti-skate control that operates through the tension spring and filament, and a dial that corresponds with VTF and has a positive OFF position are just some of the reference-setting features. Mechanical flexibility extends to a height-adjustable lowering/raising control, adjustable subsonic later-mode fluid damper, dual-lock base, and swiveling damped output socket.

Indeed, with the supplied Series V-12 tonearm, Model 30/12 accommodates practically every need imaginable and does so with an aptitude that must be experienced. If hearing is believing, Model 30/12 will make you an instant convert. Enjoying hyper-realistic, natural, accurate, neutral, and concert-in-your-home vinyl playback doesn’t get better than this.