SME Serie V tonearm - Re-calibration Of The Springs

phoni said:

I am asking myself whether the springs to deal in VTF and antiskating need a re-calibration from time to time. Has someone gained experience with this issue?

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No, they don’t. If you experience any issues then it’s a malfunction. I have one from 1988 and it’s dials are spot on almost better than the one from 2015. I have two SME Vs both mounted on La Platine Verdier. No calibration needed.

Another 1988 vintage SME V here, and the VTF from the spring load is very accurate, still. Can't say about the antiskate, however.

I have a relatively new SME V12 (the 12" version of the SME V) mounted on an SME 20/12. I always check the VTF with a digital scale.

If you have a good record to platter interface, so that the vinyl is very flat, you might want to experiment with dynamic versus static tracking force. My understanding is that the dynamic tracking force, the spring, is more effective with warped records as it controls the tracking force more evenly as the stylus goes up and down warps. If the record is flat, you might get a more natural sound with static tracking force, using only the counterweight. I would listen to one versus the other and see if you hear any differences. You might also want to experiment with moving the counterweight as close to the pivot point as possible which might mean using both types of force. The closer the counterweight is to the bearing or pivot, the less inertia there is in the movement of the arm. This might also be audible. There are a lot of factors involved like compliance of your particular cartridge. Experiment for what sounds best.

I have a variety of SME arms (V, IV, 309, M10) and I wondered if the anti-skate setting was off when I ran into an issue (which turned out to be related to the arm lift interfering with the tonearm) so I checked them with a WallySkater. All were spot on: the dial agreed with the WallySkater, and they are of various ages, up to 14 years.