Sme 3012 R

I know this old arm is good but I don’t know why David,Rockitman,Tang,Ron,Mike
Use or will use having top tonearm like Sat,EliteAxiom,Black Beauty,Durand

Why 3012 is so special?
I never had and I don’t understand
Only to know for my curiosity
Regards
Gian

 

Hi Tang,

If you are having problems with sibilance then you might want to look at VTA or cartridge alignment again as that is *usually* the culprit.

Dear Bill,

I was saying I have sibilances varying in degree from cart to cart. It is not a problem for me . Maybe for Ron and MadFloyd.
On the other hand, If AP45 Dream with Dean doesn’t has sibilances then I have a problem.

Kind regards,
Tang

 

Dear Bill,

I was saying I have sibilances varying in degree from cart to cart. It is not a problem for me . Maybe for Ron and MadFloyd.
On the other hand, If AP45 Dream with Dean doesn’t has sibilances then I have a problem.

Kind regards,
Tang

Ah okay as long as it isn’t bothering you then all is good!

Is the Dream with Dean album known to have them in the recording then?

 

Hi Tang,

If you are having problems with sibilance then you might want to look at VTA or cartridge alignment again as that is *usually* the culprit.

I plan to look into this. Hoping the sibilance distortion isn't a defacto weakness of this arm because otherwise it's killer good!

 

Dear Bill,

I was saying I have sibilances varying in degree from cart to cart. It is not a problem for me . Maybe for Ron and MadFloyd.
On the other hand, If AP45 Dream with Dean doesn’t has sibilances then I have a problem.

Kind regards,
Tang

I never had sibilance with any cartridge with my Black Beauty.

 

Was he using 2534 cable Ian ?

Sorry, missed your post somehow until now... he is using 2549. Do you know the difference?

 

I plan to look into this. Hoping the sibilance distortion isn't a defacto weakness of this arm because otherwise it's killer good!

definitely not the arm... setup of cart alignment or VTA. I have never even heard of an arm being sibilant.

 

definitely not the arm... setup of cart alignment or VTA. I have never even heard of an arm being sibilant.

Thanks. I have no idea if an arm could be sibilant. In my ignorance I assume sibilance is distortion and I know that tonearms vary in terms of distortion level. I struggled with sibilance with my Trident tonearm to the point where I just assumed it was a thing to accept with analog but when I switched to Black Beauty (different table at same time mind you) I never heard sibilance again (that I can recall anyway). Ironically perfect setup with the Black Beauty is, in my opinion, impossible so it's a little strange that it was so clean.

There is also the possibility that the RCA connection scheme of the SME cable is allowing vibrations to travel up to the suspended platform of the Kronos. With the Black Beauty, the RCA connection is on the base of the turntable and there is a very lightweight wires that travel from the suspended platform to the RCA outputs.

Well here's to hoping that it's just setup. I'm not in a rush to find out as I'm too busy enjoying the sound as it is.

 

Thanks. I have no idea if an arm could be sibilant. In my ignorance I assume sibilance is distortion and I know that tonearms vary in terms of distortion level. I struggled with sibilance with my Trident tonearm to the point where I just assumed it was a thing to accept with analog but when I switched to Black Beauty (different table at same time mind you) I never heard sibilance again (that I can recall anyway). Ironically perfect setup with the Black Beauty is, in my opinion, impossible so it's a little strange that it was so clean.

There is also the possibility that the RCA connection scheme of the SME cable is allowing vibrations to travel up to the suspended platform of the Kronos. With the Black Beauty, the RCA connection is on the base of the turntable and there is a very lightweight wires that travel from the suspended platform to the RCA outputs.

Well here's to hoping that it's just setup. I'm not in a rush to find out as I'm too busy enjoying the sound as it is.

once you get David's alignment jig and use the DB protractor, cart alignment issues should go away. You could be off on VTA/SRA...too high in the back ?

use playing cards and try seeing how it sounds reducing height by one card at a time and or vice versa..adding cards....more height. With time you will get comfortable with the arm. It took me a bit of time too and I had the luxury of David setting things up the first time.

 

once you get David's alignment jig and use the DB protractor, cart alignment issues should go away. You could be off on VTA/SRA...too high in the back ?

Nope, slightly lower in back. Need to level it up again and see what happens. Most of my music is instrumental so I just noticed it sometime after lowering the arm a tad.

Looking forward to that jig!

 

Sorry, missed your post somehow until now... he is using 2549. Do you know the difference?

Not really, i owned a commercial recording studio years ago, and a lot of the wire was 2534. Pretty neutral, and well shielded.I use it a lot of places. How is the 2549 sounding ?

 

Thanks. I have no idea if an arm could be sibilant. In my ignorance I assume sibilance is distortion and I know that tonearms vary in terms of distortion level. I struggled with sibilance with my Trident tonearm to the point where I just assumed it was a thing to accept with analog but when I switched to Black Beauty (different table at same time mind you) I never heard sibilance again (that I can recall anyway). Ironically perfect setup with the Black Beauty is, in my opinion, impossible so it's a little strange that it was so clean.

There is also the possibility that the RCA connection scheme of the SME cable is allowing vibrations to travel up to the suspended platform of the Kronos. With the Black Beauty, the RCA connection is on the base of the turntable and there is a very lightweight wires that travel from the suspended platform to the RCA outputs.

Well here's to hoping that it's just setup. I'm not in a rush to find out as I'm too busy enjoying the sound as it is.

In my experience sibilance is often when the arm is to high in the back, or azimuth is of. It’s hard to tell from just looking at the angle of the arm. The angel of the stylus can vary quite a bit.

 

Not really, i owned a commercial recording studio years ago, and a lot of the wire was 2534. Pretty neutral, and well shielded.I use it a lot of places. How is the 2549 sounding ?

Maybe a tad warmer than the SME, but I think the latter is better. It would be hard to know without a more focused a/b/a which maybe I'll do one day.

 

Maybe a tad warmer than the SME, but I think the latter is better. It would be hard to know without a more focused a/b/a which maybe I'll do one day.

David swears by the original SME cable, and i trust his taste. If your short has been resolved it is probably the best solution.

 

I'm glad that you are so happy with the Opus/SME combination. You did not mention the Atlas? Which arm do you like with the Atlas and is it just a "different flavor" from the Opus or does it have a signature that you do not like as much as the Opus?

Oh. I thought you were asking for my comment only on carts I had on both SME and SAT and on AS2000. I only have AtlasSL on SME on AS2000. I never put AtlasSL on SAT on AS2000 just yet so I didnt mention it. Anyway, my AtlasSL also sounds best on the SME. I was listening to it all day yesterday. The Opus, GFS and AtlasSL give very different presentation to one another. I like all of them. The SME is just a great arm Peter. I mean it doesn’t add or substract..just play my carts and reveal how different they are more. I don’t have enough experience to say it is excellent universally with all carts but with what I have the 3012R is a no-brainer. Best value product for sure.

Kind regards,
Tang

 

Nope, slightly lower in back. Need to level it up again and see what happens. Most of my music is instrumental so I just noticed it sometime after lowering the arm a tad.

Looking forward to that jig!

I don’t hear sibilances with any instruments. I hear obvious sibilances with vocals of Dream Martin and Louis Armstrong on certain recordings.

Tang

 

I don’t hear sibilances with any instruments. I hear obvious sibilances with vocals of Dream Martin and Louis Armstrong on certain recordings.

Tang

I don’t hear sibilance with any instruments either - the day I do I quit being an audiophile.

Dream Martin... I see what you did there.

 

Hey Tang.

You need to buy Damien Rice - O . first time on vinyl, 2018 release of the 2002 album. absolutely wonderful. You will like and will sound wonderful on your system.

https://www.discogs.com/Damien-Rice-O/release/11293982

Hi Shane,

This vinyl is excellent. So so quiet. A super high resolution vinyl. I like the way it was recorded..a bit raw. This is one artist that recorded, mixed music himself with care of sound quality. The best mainstream modern music on vinyl I have. A must have. Thanks for recommending.

You are right it sounds superb in my system .

Thanks again,
Tang

 

Hi Tang,
You must get My Favourite Faded Fantasy if you like “O”.
It’s double vinyl, 45rpm.
Damien is even better live and I’ve seen him in Hammersmith O2, he did one song without PA, stood at the front of stage and sang. The audience went silent, completely!
Also saw him in a local Church, the Union Chapel, which was recorded, and with Adele at the same venue.
Cheers
Blue58

 

Hi Tang,
You must get My Favourite Faded Fantasy if you like “O”.
It’s double vinyl, 45rpm.
Damien is even better live and I’ve seen him in Hammersmith O2, he did one song without PA, stood at the front of stage and sang. The audience went silent, completely!
Also saw him in a local Church, the Union Chapel, which was recorded, and with Adele at the same venue.
Cheers
Blue58

Thanks Blue. Just bought.

Tang

 

Hi Shane,

This vinyl is excellent. So so quiet. A super high resolution vinyl. I like the way it was recorded..a bit raw. This is one artist that recorded, mixed music himself with care of sound quality. The best mainstream modern music on vinyl I have. A must have. Thanks for recommending.

You are right it sounds superb in my system .

Thanks again,
Tang

View attachment 43554

Excellent Tang. Glad you like it!! Blue is right, you will like Faded Fantasy as well. Gotta think of some other modern records for you to buy - but mind blank at the moment as playing loud and raucous Queens of the Stone Age ( seeing them in concert on weekend) and classic Prince - Sign of the Times.

I put SPU Royal GM onto the 3012-R today. funny, the Royal has more detail and bass, but I think I like the musical delivery of the cheaper Classic GM E.