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

 

Hello,

I have noticed differences in sound with Anti-Skating setting.

I use zyx u-ex100 + Ortofon lh-9000
VTF: 2.0 g
Only the light weight on the arm

With 2 g anti-skating force:
+ + better bass.
+ a bit better sound stage.
+ a bit better decay with piano
+ overall i feel better flow with music.
- Smudged and unfocused string and percussion instruments.
- - overall loss of details and nuances with jazz.

With 1.5 g anti-skating force:
+ + Much more detailed and precise string and percussion instruments.
+ more nuanced piano.
+ more nuanced wind instruments.
- less bass
- less stage


How can i get the best result from anti-skating without any "Sacrifices"?


tried 1.75 g anti-skating,
sounds dull.

 

How can i get the best result from anti-skating without any "Sacrifices"?

I would recommend that you consider a Bronze Alloy bearing Viz : https://www.analogtubeaudio.de/en/bronze-knife-edge-bearing-sme-3009-3012/
You may well find that with the upgraded bearing in place that you settle on a singular anti skate setting that ticks most if not all the boxes.

 

Received the arm board for my 3012-R from 2juki the other day. Will finally be able to mount it on the Raven.

 

Hi,

looks like a Micro Seiki AX-2G tonearmboard. These were meant for SME 3009/3010 tonearms.
The correct board for a SME 3012R is the Micro Seiki AX-4G.

(Unless you plan to adapt/ modify it for a Raven)

Best regards,
Tony

 

Hi,

looks like a Micro Seiki AX-2G tonearmboard. These were meant for SME 3009/3010 tonearms.
The correct board for a SME 3012R is the Micro Seiki AX-4G.

(Unless you plan to adapt/ modify it for a Raven)

Best regards,
Tony

Hi Tony,

That is correctly observed! It is an AX-2G and the reason for it being used on a 12” arm, in this case, is that the arm towers on my Raven are positioned so far out from the platter that AX-4G would make it impossible for me to get the correct mounting distance and alignment. The arm would just end up too far out to be of any use.

I did some thorough measuring before I ordered the AX-2G just to be sure it would correctly fit my 3012-R on my turn table.

 

And the arm is in place, basic setup and adjusted as a mere start. Now I need to start listening and do all the fine tuning, as well as get to know the arm better.

 

And the arm is in place, basic setup and adjusted as a mere start. Now I need to start listening and do all the fine tuning, as well as get to know the arm better.

View attachment 147553View attachment 147554View attachment 147555

Very nice front end, arm/cartridge combination. That looks like a vdH Grand Cru Elite. I recognize the protractor. I use what I think is on the other side. Do you have the jig from DDK or are use placing the stylus right on the protractor? If it is the GCE, I found the lowest antiskate setting of 0.5g sounds best and is recommended by both AJ vdH and by DDK. Try it when fine tuning. These cartridges are all a bit different, sample to sample. You will be rewarded if spending the time to really dial it in.

 

And the arm is in place, basic setup and adjusted as a mere start. Now I need to start listening and do all the fine tuning, as well as get to know the arm better.

View attachment 147553View attachment 147554View attachment 147555

Grand Crue, a gentlemans choice !

 

Very nice front end, arm/cartridge combination. That looks like a vdH Grand Cru Elite. I recognize the protractor. I use what I think is on the other side. Do you have the jig from DDK or are use placing the stylus right on the protractor? If it is the GCE, I found the lowest antiskate setting of 0.5g sounds best and is recommended by both AJ vdH and by DDK. Try it when fine tuning. These cartridges are all a bit different, sample to sample. You will be rewarded if spending the time to really dial it in.

Yes lowest setting antiskate or you will probably have a lot of sibilants ! I run mine at about 1.37 g VTF.

 

Yes lowest setting antiskate or you will probably have a lot of sibilants ! I run mine at about 1.37 g VTF.

Mr. vdHul told me that after the cartridge is broken in to try setting VTF as low as 1.0 or 1.1g. I did that and it sounded good but I now prefer higher, closer to 1.4. The added tracking force seems to give it a bit more body/weight, and I find the timbre is slightly more real. These cartridges are extremely resolving, but not quite as full bodied as my vintage Ortofons. The 3012R is a really good combination.

 

Mr. vdHul told me that after the cartridge is broken in to try setting VTF as low as 1.0 or 1.1g. I did that and it sounded good but I now prefer higher, closer to 1.4. The added tracking force seems to give it a bit more body/weight, and I find the timbre is slightly more real. These cartridges are extremely resolving, but not quite as full bodied as my vintage Ortofons. The 3012R is a really good combination.

This cartridge plays great in my system, amazing mid-bass agility and excellent tone.

 

Very nice front end, arm/cartridge combination. That looks like a vdH Grand Cru Elite. I recognize the protractor. I use what I think is on the other side. Do you have the jig from DDK or are use placing the stylus right on the protractor? If it is the GCE, I found the lowest antiskate setting of 0.5g sounds best and is recommended by both AJ vdH and by DDK. Try it when fine tuning. These cartridges are all a bit different, sample to sample. You will be rewarded if spending the time to really dial it in.

Thank you Peter.

Yes, it is a GCE. This was my first time using the DB Systems protractor but I found using this side helpful with more aiming lines to help me guiding the cantilever to correct position. Do you know if both sides are the same alignment? I do not have the DDK jig but I have read about it in this thread (so yes, I did place the stylus directly on the protractor). Didn’t know it was commercially available?

I appreciate your experiance and tip about antiskate. Will try the lowest setting. (I was really impressed about VTF-setting. Putting the VTF weight slightly below 1,5 grams and that turned out to be 1.35 grams when checking with my digital scale.)

I have had a few different colibris and know that they all are quite different and need proper care when setting up. I will also try the card trick for VTA. Per now the arm, as a start, is parallell to the platter.

Feel free to share more experience with the combination 3012-R/GCE, if any.

 

Yes lowest setting antiskate or you will probably have a lot of sibilants ! I run mine at about 1.37 g VTF.

Started with 1.35 g and will set the antiskating at the lowest possible setting. Thanks Lagonda.

 

Thank you Peter.

Yes, it is a GCE. This was my first time using the DB Systems protractor but I found using this side helpful with more aiming lines to help me guiding the cantilever to correct position. Do you know if both sides are the same alignment? I do not have the DDK jig but I have read about it in this thread (so yes, I did place the stylus directly on the protractor). Didn’t know it was commercially available?

I appreciate your experiance and tip about antiskate. Will try the lowest setting. (I was really impressed about VTF-setting. Putting the VTF weight slightly below 1,5 grams and that turned out to be 1.35 grams when checking with my digital scale.)

I have had a few different colibris and know that they all are quite different and need proper care when setting up. I will also try the card trick for VTA. Per now the arm, as a start, is parallell to the platter.

Feel free to share more experience with the combination 3012-R/GCE, if any.

Crosswind, I think the protractor is the same on both sides. The advantage of the jig is that you can do the alignment without the risk of damaging the cartridge. Another advantage is that the sides are perfectly perpendicular and it lies flat on the surface of the protractor, so you can get perfect alignment without eyeballing it from above and lining up the sides of the headshell. David had a bunch of these made up but he may not have any more. I do not know if it is available elsewhere. Of course, the stylus directly in the spot is arguably also very accurate. With the Colibris, it is easy to see. Not so easy with some other cartridges.

It is not worth generalizing about the arm height or if it is level. I suppose it is a good place to start as a reference point. From there, use the cards and go up and down to see which direction sounds best. Then continue fine tuning. Do it all by ear for best results. Good lighting and patience.

 

Crosswind, I think the protractor is the same on both sides. The advantage of the jig is that you can do the alignment without the risk of damaging the cartridge. Another advantage is that the sides are perfectly perpendicular and it lies flat on the surface of the protractor, so you can get perfect alignment without eyeballing it from above and lining up the sides of the headshell. David had a bunch of these made up but he may not have any more. I do not know if it is available elsewhere. Of course, the stylus directly in the spot is arguably also very accurate. With the Colibris, it is easy to see. Not so easy with some other cartridges.

It is not worth generalizing about the arm height or if it is level. I suppose it is a good place to start as a reference point. From there, use the cards and go up and down to see which direction sounds best. Then continue fine tuning. Do it all by ear for best results. Good lighting and patience.

Thanks again!

If I find myself changing cartridges often in this arm I might try and see if DDK still offers these jigs. It does sound like a safe and easy device.

 

And the very first record using 3012-R/GCE is about to be played. I’m excited!

 

Do you like it and is there any positive audible effect through the gun metal base?

 

Yes I like it. A lot to be honest. Too early to say anything of substance, but I start to understand what all the excitement is about. There is clearly a synergy between 3012-R and top of the line VdH that is special.

When it comes to the gun metal base, I can’t give you any feedback on the matter since I’ve only used this arm in this base. Nothing to compare it to. The arm is new to me and so is the turntable. But I do know that, in general, my experience is that other arms I tried in different bases do improve in gun metal bases. Especially the FR64s, seen in the background, improved in the bass. Even more so with the B60 and heavy nut.

 

My FR-64S is with the N60 heavy nut on a (guess what ) gun metal AX-8G base too.