Set in the heart of the Sussex countryside at the foot of the south downs SME the home of arguably the finest precision gramophone pick-up arms and turntables in the world. To own an SME product is to possess a jewel of near perfection in both performance and construction. To maintain the very high standards of quality all manufacture and processing is carried out 'in house'. Facilities commence with design and toolmaking through all aspects of manufacturing including CNC machining, pressure die-casting, injection moulding, metal finishing, electro-plating, anodising and many other processes.

An adjustable and removable magnesium headshell provides a combination of high performance and convenience in the Model 309 tonearm. Get the workmanship and performance of SME- ABEC-1 bearings, LC/OFC internal wire and tonearm cable, and static tracking force - at a more affordable price.

Although the unique one-piece magnesium tone-arm is used for the Series 300 Model 309, advanced metal techniques produce a fabricated arm of exceptional stiffness for the Series 300 Model 310 and 312 arms thus allowing a choice of three arm lengths to suit all decks. The detachable magnesium headshell has a new style coupling, providing the convenience of rapid cartridge interchange without loss of rigidity. Our designers can be justly proud of these models which offer a performance and manufacturing excellence unmatched by many more expensive models.

Features:

Unique pressure die-cast magnesium shell detachable and interchangeable without disturbing cartridge or wiring.

New design clamping arrangement ensures rigid junction with tone-arm.

Internal constrained layer damps minute residual vibrations making tone-arm acoustically inert.

Stainless steel cross shaft, ground and thread ground. Carried in massive yoke on 10mm precision ball races.

Axis at record mean level to minimise warp-wow.

Unique assembly gives high rigidity and allows bearings to be critically adjusted before tone-arm is fitted.

Stainless steel vertical shaft, ground and thread ground, with integral 16mm diameter flange to couple shaft and yoke.

23mm diameter steel pillar, heat treated, ground and honed, carries two 17mm precision ball races.

Anti-skate control operates through tension spring and filament. Dial corresponds with VTF and has positive OFF position.

Lowering/raising control gives smooth positive action. Height of lift can be adjusted.

Dual-lock base provides movement control with high rigidity.

Tungsten-alloy balance weight carried on damped two-point suspension. Extra-low inertia design assists warp riding.

Underslung weight housing corrects centre of gravity and provides non reflective tone-arm termination.

Swivelling, damped output socket minimises vibration transmission in sub-chassis use.

Reference lines on tone-arm facilitate VTA setting.

Fine adjustment of horizontal tracking angle (HTA).

New design alignment protractor sets HTA with great accuracy.

Cartridge leads and internal wiring LCOFC litz.

Balanced LCOFC audio lead with gold plated phono plugs.