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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.
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
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.
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)
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.
I always take them off. Never had a wobbly one yet.
Are these SME headshells actually any good?i have one but other than looking cool
Never actually used it.