Sme 3009 tonearm too much mass for Thorens td150?

[Simon75]

I've just had my thorens td150 serviced. The chap did quite a bit of work on it for a fair price. It's sounding noticeably better than previously. What I did find interesting is that I was advised that the sme 3009 (non improved) tonearm has too much mass for the turntable. I had previously been under the impression that the sme30009 was very suitable for a thorens td150. I actually have the orginal printed instructions for the tonearm being fitted to the thorens so it seems to have been a commom choice back when they were originally made. I have read a little bit elsewhere about too much cable effecting the suspension but little else. Any other views out there?

[walpurgis]

Have you not considered servicing it yourself? They are pretty simple devices. I wouldn't be happy paying to have somebody work on something so easy to sort out.

The SME should be OK on the deck. After all, Thorens sold them with an SME cutout on the armboard, so they must have been happy with the idea. It used to be quite a common combination.

Yes, you should keep an eye on cable 'dressing'. It can affect the suspension freedom of movement if care is not taken.




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[struth]

Used an improved on my 160. Was great

[homespun]

Like wise, I had a SME 3009 on my TD160 fitted with the Thorens supplied mounting board, great combination. Just spend a bit of time carefully setting up the arm. There were suspension chassis modification kits available years ago for the TD range which made a big difference, I doubt they are available today?

[amati74(Artur)]

Like wise, I had a SME 3009 on my TD160 fitted with the Thorens supplied mounting board, great combination. Just spend a bit of time carefully setting up the arm. There were suspension chassis modification kits available years ago for the TD range which made a big difference, I doubt they are available today?

Could you tell me more about chassis modyfication suspension kit please

[Simon75]

Have you not considered servicing it yourself? They are pretty simple devices. I wouldn't be happy paying to have somebody work on something so easy to sort out.

The SME should be OK on the deck. After all, Thorens sold them with an SME cutout on the armboard, so they must have been happy with the idea. It used to be quite a common combination.

Yes, you should keep an eye on cable 'dressing'. It can affect the suspension freedom of movement if care is not taken.




.

Yeah I did consider servicing myself but it was needing more than a straight forward servicing. It wasnt earthed, the suspension wasnt right, the cartridge alignment wasnt 100%.
With pets, toddler and lack of space/time it wasnt really an option. The issues are sorted now. Was just suprised when I was advised it wasnt the right tonearm for the table. Sounding great at the moment.

[Simon75]

Like wise, I had a SME 3009 on my TD160 fitted with the Thorens supplied mounting board, great combination. Just spend a bit of time carefully setting up the arm. There were suspension chassis modification kits available years ago for the TD range which made a big difference, I doubt they are available today?

Thats interesting. Thats one of the things that was an issue with my td150, the suspension wasnt set properly for the sme.

[hifi_dave]

Late last year I serviced and set up a TD150 with SME 3009 Imp and had no issues at all. Back in the day, it was pretty well the go-to arm for a TD150.

[Barry]

I assume the SME arm has been modified to have a horizontal cable entry? Otherwise it is unlikely that you will be able to dress the cable so as not to have a detrimental effect on the suspension.

Also the dead weight of the SME 3009 (non-improved) is heavier than the standard Thorens TP-13 arm, so the deck suspension will have to be adjusted.

If you do that, then as others have reported, you can use an SME 3009 successfully with the Thorens TD150. I did.

[walpurgis]

I assume the SME arm has been modified to have a horizontal cable entry? Otherwise it is unlikely that you will be able to dress the cable so as not to have a detrimental effect on the suspension.

I fitted a Decca International arm to my first TD150. It was the original version with the long stem housing the opposing magnets and needed around 100mm clear space below the arm board. I built a tall plinth housing or surround that the original plinth could drop into, providing clearance for the arm cable. Problem solved.