SME 3009r headshell advice [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

pidge22

21-01-2019, 19:32

Hi I have just become the owner of a superb CTC Garrard 301 & SME 3009r tone arm (which I have to say I am very impressed with)....as I intend to have a couple of additional cartridges I will need a couple of spare headshells & the correct one for this arm S2-R.I cannot see any of these for sale so my question is will a S2 Headshell suffice...

thanks

take5

21-01-2019, 21:53

I have quite a few sme 3009 headshells that i will sell.

But i dont know which one you are looking for.

Can you post a picture or a link to the one you want.

Thanks

GrahamS

21-01-2019, 22:13

I have one of these for sale but with the proper slotted screws . £25.00 + P&P £5.00 by Royal Mail:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/902/28578438698_cc141610bb_b.jpg

PM me if interested.

pidge22

21-01-2019, 22:22

I have quite a few sme 3009 headshells that i will sell.

But i dont know which one you are looking for.

Can you post a picture or a link to the one you want.

Thanks

Hi this is the link to the S2-R headshell & box that came with my Garrard

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/SME-S2-R-Box-with-S2-Headshell-/263419496620

take5

22-01-2019, 07:06

Hi this is the link to the S2-R headshell & box that came with my Garrard

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/SME-S2-R-Box-with-S2-Headshell-/263419496620

There are no pictures available on that link.

But he does say that he was selling an S2r box but with S2 headshell.

I think mine are probably plain old S2 versions

pidge22

24-01-2019, 19:37

Thanks ....I wonder if anyone can advise if the S2 will work on a 3009R tonearm....ie is there ny difference between the s2 & s2R....

tlscapital

26-01-2019, 06:21

Hi I have just become the owner of a superb CTC Garrard 301 & SME 3009r tone arm (which I have to say I am very impressed with)....as I intend to have a couple of additional cartridges I will need a couple of spare headshells & the correct one for this arm S2-R.I cannot see any of these for sale so my question is will a S2 Headshell suffice...

thanks

Congratulation ! Vintage combo look that the Ortofon SPU 'G' type alloy or bakelite headshell grace better than any other IMO. But unless you have a lucky golden hand, they do come to a price when in the hand of the dealers in the "known". Admitting that most cartridges should benefit a mounting plate most of the time as well... They are rare, pricey and fussy. But once all is there; a blessing !

pidge22

26-01-2019, 08:43

I have one of these for sale but with the proper slotted screws . £25.00 + P&P £5.00 by Royal Mail:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/902/28578438698_cc141610bb_b.jpg

PM me if interested.

PM Sent...

DSJR

26-01-2019, 20:15

There are at least two versions of this shell. The first had no holes and the one pictured is the famous 60's/early 70's example. Later on in the 70's, SME beefed up the metal thickness a little, riveted the finger lift to the side and thi smeant the top could be made totally flat, so the cartridge wasn't stood off the main top of the shell as it used to be.

SME used to supply a black-tac kind of 'paste' which you could put between top of cartridge and the shell, removing the surplus with a coctail stick or similar. Tamed the slight 'edge' no end ;)

pidge22

26-01-2019, 20:36

There are at least two versions of this shell. The first had no holes and the one pictured is the famous 60's/early 70's example. Later on in the 70's, SME beefed up the metal thickness a little, riveted the finger lift to the side and thi smeant the top could be made totally flat, so the cartridge wasn't stood off the main top of the shell as it used to be.

SME used to supply a black-tac kind of 'paste' which you could put between top of cartridge and the shell, removing the surplus with a coctail stick or similar. Tamed the slight 'edge' no end ;)

Thanks for the info....hopefully the one pictured is the S2-R & will work with my 3009-R as i have bought it!

GrahamS

27-01-2019, 10:52

I have one of these for sale but with the proper slotted screws . £25.00 + P&P £5.00 by Royal Mail:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/902/28578438698_cc141610bb_b.jpg

PM me if interested.
Sold

Barry

07-02-2019, 01:21

Thanks for the info....hopefully the one pictured is the S2-R & will work with my 3009-R as i have bought it!

The headshell you have bought is the SME S2 not the S2-R, which as Dave has said, is made of thicker aluminium and has the fingerlift attached to the side of the shell and not sandwiched between the headshell and cartridge. That notwithstanding, the S2 can be used in your 3009-R, as can any headshell that uses the SME/EIA bayonet coupling.

mjkelshaw

12-02-2019, 14:55

Hi,
I've just noticed this thread - not been on AOS for a while.
The main difference between the earlier SME h/shells and the later 'R' type ones, ignoring the attachment of the finger lift, is the addition of a lower locating pin, i.e. earlier h/shells have one pin on the top of the connector, the latter 'R' types have 2, the lower one being offset towards the front of the h/shell connector.
Regardless of the number of pins, both types of h/shell will fit either the 'R' type or the earlier versions of the arms.

Regards
Mike Kelshaw

pidge22

13-02-2019, 20:33

Hi,
I've just noticed this thread - not been on AOS for a while.
The main difference between the earlier SME h/shells and the later 'R' type ones, ignoring the attachment of the finger lift, is the addition of a lower locating pin, i.e. earlier h/shells have one pin on the top of the connector, the latter 'R' types have 2, the lower one being offset towards the front of the h/shell connector.
Regardless of the number of pins, both types of h/shell will fit either the 'R' type or the earlier versions of the arms.

Regards
Mike Kelshaw

thanks for the information ...

tinear

13-02-2019, 23:47

The problem I have with these headshells is the rubber spacer (seemingly bonded-to with the S2-R) which SME presumably introduced due to less exact assembly/manufacturing tolerances.
However, a mid '60's SME 3009 appears so well engineered that no spacer is required; even with the single draw-pin in the S2 it creates a one-piece bond with the arm-tube.

Barry

13-02-2019, 23:56

The problem I have with these headshells is the rubber spacer (seemingly bonded-to with the S2-R) which SME presumably introduced due to less exact assembly/manufacturing tolerances.
However, a mid '60's SME 3009 appears so well engineered that no spacer is required; even with the single draw-pin in the S2 it creates a one-piece bond with the arm-tube.

I have a couple of SME S2-R headshells. The rubber washer is easily removed.

It's presence (on both the S2, S3 and S2-R shells ) has nothing to do with assembly/manufacturing tolerances. Alastair Robertson-Aikman (who designed the arm) thought that a small amount of decoupling was beneficial. Whether you agree with him or not, the rubber washer is easily removed.

tinear

14-02-2019, 00:10

Well, I've noticed if the rubber spacer is omitted then the headshell (have a few) will 'wobble' as it doesn't make intimate contact to the arm-tube end...possibly the fault of my particular mid-70's 3009 improved, then - or, as Audio T said, a few years previously, 'its gone all plasticky..'
(an additional problem is that the rubber compresses unevenly with the single-pin S2 - so the headshell is no longer in alignment with the arm-tube)

Barry

14-02-2019, 00:25

Well, I've noticed if the rubber spacer is omitted then the headshell (have a few) will 'wobble' as it doesn't make intimate contact to the arm-tube end...possibly the fault of my particular mid-70's 3009 improved, then - or, as Audio T said, a few years previously, 'its gone all plasticky..'

Interesting. I have five SME arms (two 3009/IIs, a 3009/II ()improved, a 3012/II and an M2-12R) as well as 10 SME headshells (mostly S2, an S3 and a couple of S2-Rs) and all mate securely regardless of whether the rubber washer is present or not.

The same was found with the ADC LMG cast magnesium headshells I used to use in the '80s.

struth

14-02-2019, 04:33

I always take them off. Never had a wobbly one yet.

WESTLOWER

14-02-2019, 08:49

Are these SME headshells actually any good?i have one but other than looking cool
Never actually used it.

struth

14-02-2019, 08:50

they are light

WESTLOWER

14-02-2019, 09:41

they are light

HI Grant...I know they are light in weight, but they worth using?

Barry

14-02-2019, 18:00

HI Grant...I know they are light in weight, but they worth using?

There are some who think the perforated S2 headshells are insufficiently rigid for use with low compliance cartridges. True they are light in weight, but one can always add mass using lead shims or even a solid metal spacer. I'm happy to use them, but I also use more 'beefier' headshells: such as the Fidelity Research and the Audio Technica designs.