“This is no ordinary turntable” is the first thing you read upon opening up the instruction book for this sexy beast of a vinyl spinner. Well then let’s put that bold statement to the test then shall we?

First The History Lesson…

SME is without doubt one of the hi-fi world’s most iconic brands. Founded in 1946 by audio legend Alastair Robertson-Aikman in West Sussex. Today SME is recognised as makers of one of the finest precision turntables and tonearms in the world. Entirely made in house with state of the art manufacturing processes, complemented by traditional craftsmanship methods. SME audio has evolved from 75 years of engineering excellence, innovation and perfection, delivering precise and pure audio reproduction.

Then The Science Bit…

The Model 12A MK2 is a precision turntable of high mass made to exacting engineering standards for high performance. The chassis and sub-chassis are CNC machined from premium grade aluminium billet. The sub-chassis is suspended on an advanced isolation system for primary resonance control and houses the main bearing, platter and tonearm. Four fully adjustable feet are mechanically de-coupled from the main chassis by isolators providing base resonance control.

The main spindle is 19mm precision machined from high chrome tool steel, ground, super finished and supported in a sealed housing with individually fitted sintered bronze bearings of generous proportions needed for precise bearing and platter rotation.

The platter is machined from aluminium alloy and weighs over 4.6kg. Extensionally dampened with the top surface iso-damp, diamond-turned with a fine scroll for acoustic performance. This method of finishing upsets a myriad of tiny fibres which interface with the underside of the vinyl record. A substantial record clamp operating on the reflex principle ensures the largest possible platter contact even when appreciable record warp is present.

The motor conforms to the highest standards of silent running and the turntable is driven by a custom made bi-phase AC synchronous motor controlled by a highly advanced speed control unit providing precise speed accuracy and stability.

The MK2 Model 12 comes equipped with a Model 309 tonearm with internal wiring by Crystal Cable as standard. Tonearm choice can be upgraded to the superior Series IV or V if you so wish.

The Speed Control Box…

The Speed Control Unit uses a dedicated DSP engine to generate two independent pure mathematical sine waves which provide total control of frequency, phase relationship and amplitude. These in turn are matched (tuned) to the motor for accuracy to obtain the best possible performance.

The speed range is 33.33 and 45rpm with independent memory settings via a switched encoder. Fine pitch speed increments/decrements of +/-0.01% of the selected speed are made by a rotary control on the Speed Control Unit fascia. The SCU case is CNC machined from billet aluminium. A separate mains Power Unit keeps the transformer away from the SCU and importantly separated from the turntable audio signal cables.

The Dynavector 10x5 Mk2 looks good in the 309 arm

We have chosen to partner the SME up with the Dynavector 10X5 Mk2 moving coil cartridge. A combination that works exceedingly well.

Time for a listen

When presented with a new turntable such as this I always like to refer back to a couple of favourite demo albums of mine. Both are really good at telling me how a turntable is performing but both are very different from each other.

First under the clamp is I Robot by The Alan Parsons Project. Not the standard version but the Mobile Fidelity double vinyl edition with the album spread over four sides and playing at 45 rpm for extra detail and bandwidth. I always side one track one which just so happens to be the title track. All swirly synthesisers and female vocals morph into a rhythmic hypnotic electronic Tangerine Dreamy pulsing with snappy drums then choral vocals to form a very Pink Floyd like funky melange which the SME portrayed beautifully. Has to be one of the best times I have ever had whilst listening to this old favourite. Just stunning… especially the separation of the band from the wordless choral vocals…..just beautiful.

Next on my test album list was the three sided live bootleg of one of my all time favourite bands Ash Ra Tempel. Being a bootleg this one is not the nth degree in sound quality that the Alan Parsons Project is but hey I love it and for a turntable to be my friend it has to make this Krautrock gem sound OK. And boy does it! Again quite possibly the best I have ever heard it. I always go for the track Ooze Away on the Red Side of the album. Spaced out drums emerge from an ambient freak out elecrosludge and when the drums kick in it becomes truly transportative (is that even a word? Tis now!).

Summing Up

Here we have what is without doubt one of the great turntables from one of the great turntable manufacturers. If you are in the market for that one vinyl spinner to last you the rest of your life and provide your hifi system with the source signal it so richly deserves this could quite possibly be it. Me? I will love it forever just because it makes my 1973 Ash Ra Temple bootleg sound sooooooo good. Audio perfection…Nuff said!

Many thanks for reading