What are they? Another aspect of SME of which many audiophiles are unaware is the company's contract work in other, more serious fields.
Interestingly, there is a sub-culture completely divorced from the audio industry's respect and affection for SME that barely knows we exist: when you say the letters 'S', 'M', and 'E' to a model collector, he pictures vintage ERAs and Bugattis, made from a block of wood, a collection of fine parts and a blueprint, requiring skills far in advance of those needed for Airfix-type kits. The original company was born in as The Scale Model Equipment Company Limited, manufacturing scale models and parts for the model engineering trade and hobbyist model builder. And from onwards, the tonearm base cut-out that served as the default for countless manufacturers, from Garrard to Thorens to Technics, was that of the SME. They imply a customer's dissatisfaction with whatever a turntable manufacturer might be supplying as standard, at the same time recalling the days when all audio systems were assembled by enthusiasts with a frisson of DIY madness - and when most turntable manufacturers didn't even make arms to match their decks. After all, it is the most popular and influential quality tonearm of all time.īy their very nature, separate arms are the province of hardcore audiophiles, not casual buyers. Instead, he would let it pass into the history books with dignity. He felt, simply, that the time was right for a new 'entry level' arm, below the Series V and its variants - even though the legendary Series II improved was still selling well: after four decades, it was closing in on a half-million units.
Founder Alastair Robertson-Aikman told that he didn't want to cause a panic, nor arouse speculators, nor inflame activity on eBay.
Last year, when SME unveiled the M2 tonearm, it signified - quietly - that an era had ended.
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