SME V and Technics EPA-100

[Yiangos]

True,i agree with you.I didn't hear all the arms in the world and to be honest,i would love to listen to a few but what keeps me with an sme is the ease of setup and the sound quality which might not be the absolute but is it good.

[pure sound]

Funnily enough, the Alphason & the SME are probably about the same age ie 20 years old. The difference was that the Alphason was bought as a bag of bits. That says quite alot about how both, (but particularly the SME) were made. It has been on and off various turntables. It's had a good number of cartridges fitted. It is possibly worth more now than what I paid for it. That attribute of durable & tangible engineering quality costs money. It's an arm I'd happily supply to my granny to use. They don't seem to go wrong. There aren't too many other 'high end' tonearms that would give me that confidence.

With regard to the Jelco, it looks very nice. It'd be interesting to see how it coped with the Io and to see whether you'll still be using that very arm in 2029!

I regard 20 years plus worth of reliable service and top performance to be something worth paying for.

[Marco]

With regard to the Jelco, it looks very nice. It'd be interesting to see how it coped with the Io and to see whether you'll still be using that very arm in 2029!

The world might not even exist in 2029!

How many brand new Jelcos can you buy for the cost of a new SME V, in the extremely unlikely event one should need replacing? Somehow, Guy, I don't think this is an issue

We'll try it with the Io when I come down in the spring. You might be very surprised... Dave has already stated on his website that he wouldn't hesitate using it with £2000+ cartridges. I'm not saying that the SME V isn't a 'bit' better - but it's not £1000s of pounds worth better in the area that matters most: audio performance. SPPV will ultimately always be the most important consideration, or at least it should.

I regard 20 years plus worth of reliable service and top performance to be something worth paying for.

I think you'll find, if you ever use one, that an SA-750D, and some of the arms Jelco make for 'prestigious' manufacturers, are just as well engineered as an SME, minus the 'badge' price tag.

How long have Jelco been making tonearms and related audio ancillaries for - do you know their pedigree or longevity as a company?

We're not talking about some 'Toytown' outfit, you know!

http://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp/e_home.htm



Marco

[pure sound]

Jelco have been going a long time & certainly have plenty of experience in making decent pivoted arms at a variety of price levels. If only they'd do a 12" version of the 750 I'd consider getting one.

An SME wired as mine is would be well over £2K now maybe £2.5K I don't know. Alot anyway! If I were buying a new one now I'd probably go for either the 312S or the new 12" version of the V.

The whole 'not 000's of pounds better' thing is something of a red herring. Different levels of performance have different degrees of relevance to different people. I could fit a £20 mm cartridge to my arm. It would doubtless play the records well enough for 99% of people. Is an SPU, a Denon, a Shelter or an Io worth hundreds or thousands of pounds more? It depends on the priorities of the end user. Personally I wouldn't pay more than £15 for a watch. All it has to do is tell me the time. Some people will pay thousands for a watch. Are they mad? No, but they have different priorities to me. Ditto cars. I'd like a Bentley but wouldn't pay £100K+ for one. If I won £20m on the lottery (I'd have to start buying tickets first!) then I might consider it. The point is that performance per pound means different things to different people and no two people's priorities and values are the same.

[Marco]

I understand that point perfectly, and I also think you understand mine without repeating myself anymore

The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the listening - so when I come down we'll do that SP10 v. modified SL-1210 thing we've been meaning to do; particularly now I've got the Jelco and 103SA.

I think the results could be very interesting; particularly how close my deck gets to yours with the SME V and Io. It'll certainly make an interesting write-up for the forum

Marco.

[StanleyB]

I reckon my HS-100 can chew up both the SME and the EPA-100.

Stan

[Dave Cawley]

I have an expensive watch, an expensive car and a SME V. But I don't holiday, it's my choice.

Dave

[Marco]

Yes, but would you still have an SME V if you weren't a dealer, and party to the perks thereof, or would you be using a Jelco like the rest of us who know what we know?

Marco.

[StanleyB]

What's a holiday?

[Dave Cawley]

I'm not a Mercedes dealer, or a Longines dealer, yet I still buy them, love them and cherish them. Just like my SME V and Jelco on my second system. So yes, if I weren't a dealer I would buy an SME V, no question.

However, just about to play a reverse direction, vertical cut Pathe 80 something rpm..... On the SL-120 with Jelco.

Now how is the time going? oooooh what a lovely watch

Dave