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

 

Thanks for your response Microstrip... Yes, I only hear distortion from the right channel when playing the test track.

Did you try playing with the setting of the lateral balance?

Since you have a separate arm mount you can always try very slightly changing its level perpendicularly to the tonearm - it will create some lateral imbalance that can work as anti-skating.

 

Are any folks having issues with the 3012R knife edge bearing chattering? I've heard this can be an issue.

 

Are any folks having issues with the 3012R knife edge bearing chattering? I've heard this can be an issue.

It was an issue for me, and that's one of the reasons why I sold the arm.

 

What were the symptoms of 3012R knife bearing chatter during playback? Distortion, sibilance, smearing? Was it pretty consistent for you, or did it only occur with certain records?

Thanks!

 

What were the symptoms of 3012R knife bearing chatter during playback? Distortion, sibilance, smearing? Was it pretty consistent for you, or did it only occur with certain records?

Thanks!

I had consistent problems...not obvious from the beginning, but after a while, very annoying. Those problems were primarily to do with sibilance..and if I remember correctly ( it's been several years since I owned the SME 3012R) some smearing. Cannot remember if it occurred with all records, but I know it annoyed me enough to get rid of this arm. I replaced it with an Eminent Tech air bearing...which IMO sounded a lot better; albeit with all its problems!

 

I had consistent problems...not obvious from the beginning, but after a while, very annoying. Those problems were primarily to do with sibilance..and if I remember correctly ( it's been several years since I owned the SME 3012R) some smearing. Cannot remember if it occurred with all records, but I know it annoyed me enough to get rid of this arm. I replaced it with an Eminent Tech air bearing...which IMO sounded a lot better; albeit with all its problems!

Why do you think that these problems were caused by knife edge bearing chattering? I owned and own SME 30XX tonearms wit several types of bearing and never had such problems - although once I had to replace one edge bearing that had a small imperfection.

 

Why do you think that these problems were caused by knife edge bearing chattering? I owned and own SME 30XX tonearms wit several types of bearing and never had such problems - although once I had to replace one edge bearing that had a small imperfection.

Micro, it has been many years since i owned the SME. I don't recall why I came to realize why the bearing was the issue, although obviously I heard the results. That, plus I had a friend who had similar issues at the time, and also ended up dumping the arm. SME went way from this bearing design, perhaps a good question for them!

 

Micro, it has been many years since i owned the SME. I don't recall why I came to realize why the bearing was the issue, although obviously I heard the results. That, plus I had a friend who had similar issues at the time, and also ended up dumping the arm. SME went way from this bearing design, perhaps a good question for them!

Your issues were most likely caused by poor set up or resonance with the spring suspension of the table you were using. The 3012R with the heavy tables that are popular today do not have the chattering issue.

 

Your issues were most likely caused by poor set up or resonance with the spring suspension of the table you were using. The 3012R with the heavy tables that are popular today do not have the chattering issue.

Plenty of assumptions there, LOL. Only problem is that at the time I was using a turntable that didn't have a spring suspension...a Technics SP10Mk2 in a solid wood base. The set up was done by a local pro at the time, and subsequently by a pro in LA..otherwise, yeah, good guess! Next thought?

 

Micro, it has been many years since i owned the SME. I don't recall why I came to realize why the bearing was the issue, although obviously I heard the results. That, plus I had a friend who had similar issues at the time, and also ended up dumping the arm. SME went way from this bearing design, perhaps a good question for them!

This issue was debated many times in the past - also because of unipivots. The dubious "Accepted audiophile wisdom" , fueled by manufacturers of other types of tonearms, keeps the argument alive!

IMHO any vestige of chattering (loss of contact between the elements of the bearing) would cause high levels of distortion.

Recently I could see that the SME 3012R can enhance sibilance in some conditions - e.g. some turntables with acrylic platters.

 

Plenty of assumptions there, LOL. Only problem is that at the time I was using a turntable that didn't have a spring suspension...a Technics SP10Mk2 in a solid wood base. The set up was done by a local pro at the time, and subsequently by a pro in LA..otherwise, yeah, good guess! Next thought?

My next thought is your local "pro" knows as much about setting up arms as you do.

Or....there is a global conspiracy, lead by DDK, to create a demand for the 3012R because he has bought up 95% of the world wide stock and keeps them in a vault beneath The Great Salt Lake. We all know this is what you believe.

 

On a separate note Davey, why did you move from the SP10 to the Linn? Interesting move.

 

Too bad about chatter issues with 3012R knife edge bearings. Is this the likely reason SME moved away from this design to ABEC 7 bearings?

 

On a separate note Davey, why did you move from the SP10 to the Linn? Interesting move.

Easy, for my taste, I much preferred the Linn's SQ. The Technics was a good table, but there was no potential for upgrading it...at least at the time.

 

My next thought is your local "pro" knows as much about setting up arms as you do.

Or....there is a global conspiracy, lead by DDK, to create a demand for the 3012R because he has bought up 95% of the world wide stock and keeps them in a vault beneath The Great Salt Lake. We all know this is what you believe.

Again, plenty of assumptions... My local pro retired years ago, otherwise I would have him respond to you...and you can bet you wouldn't like his reply! But go ahead, keep on enjoying your old warhorse, it obviously works well for you.

 

Too bad about chatter issues with 3012R knife edge bearings. Is this the likely reason SME moved away from this design to ABEC 7 bearings?

Great point! But even when SME themselves tell people that this is a far better bearing solution, in the minds of the SME 3012R fanboys, that cannot be the case...therefore SME are trying to sell a cheaper product, or they have some other pathetic justification as to why SME is wrong. I'm done on this thread!

 

Again, plenty of assumptions... My local pro retired years ago, otherwise I would have him respond to you...and you can bet you wouldn't like his reply! But go ahead, keep on enjoying your old warhorse, it obviously works well for you.

Many have found that is works quite well with heavy, high end turntables.

Too bad about chatter issues with 3012R knife edge bearings. Is this the likely reason SME moved away from this design to ABEC 7 bearings?

I've never had chatter issues on my SME 3012R.

 

Too bad about chatter issues with 3012R knife edge bearings. Is this the likely reason SME moved away from this design to ABEC 7 bearings?

No, it was not. If someone thinks that the only difference between the SEM30XX and the SME series V is just the bearings he surely needs new glasses ...

There were lots of reasons why SME wanted to try a completely different approach - it is a complex history, including the influence from the famous Sumiko The Arm designed by David Feltcher. At that time - mid 80's - Alastair Robertson-Aikman gave a couple interviews debating these issues.

 

I used to have a 3012 Series 2 and later an M2-12 arm. 3012 S2 was more natural in flow but M2-12 had better dynamics and resolution, more oomph. One area where both were lacking a bit is PRAT. Neither of them had the immediacy of a 47 Labs RS-A1 or other 9-10" tonearms I had later. Has anyone noticed any such character with 3012R ?

I am in the market for a tonearm and seriously considering between FR64S and 3012R. Anyone compared them ?

 

I do use 2 of FR64s and 3012R. My favorite depends on the cartridge to be used.
Both arms are very different in terms of effective mass.
And on the turntable as such. As the FR64s needs a heavy tonearmbase to perform best, the 3012R is more flexible in this regard.