Analog Gear News

If anybody knows how to make turntables and tonearms right, it’s SME, the stalwart British company who have been manufacturing high-quality high-end gear since 1959. The company was actually founded in 1946 by Alastair Robertson-Aikman as the Scale Model Equipment Company, and, at the outset, they designed and manufactured precision models for the exhibition and model engineering trade, and later precision aircraft parts, before moving into manufacturing tonearms (or “pick-up arms,” in their parlance) and changing the company name to SME Limited.

The rest, as they say, is history. We’ve long been fans of the company’s flagship Model 60 turntable, the Series V 9in tonearm, and M2 Series tonearms, among other gear of theirs. Fast-forward to the here and now, wherein SME have recently updated their vaunted Model 15 turntable to MK2 status, and that’s the version we’re looking further into today.

The chassis and subchassis of the Model 15 MK2 table are CNC-machined from premium grade aluminium billet. The sub-chassis suspended suspension system provides “definitive” resonance control and houses the main bearing, platter, and tonearm. Three fully adjustable feet are mechanically de-coupled from the main chassis by isolators providing base resonance control.

The subchassis is suspended on 30 purpose-made suspension rings and, together with the platter, weighs more than 11kg. Subchassis motion is controlled by a central fluid damper that is said to offer a resistive ground path for acoustic signals, eliminates overshoot ,and give “almost zero” Q recovery.

The 19mm main spindle is precision-machined from high-chrome tool steel, and it’s supported in a sealed housing with individually fitted sintered bronze bearings. The 330mm platter is machined from aluminium alloy, and it weighs over 4.6kg. The platter is extensionally dampened, while the top surface iso-damp is diamond-turned with a fine scroll. According to SME, this method of finishing “upsets a myriad of tiny fibers that interface with the underside of the vinyl record.” A record clamp is also included.

The Model 15 MK2 — which the company adds was “inspired by the Model 20” — is available with the SME tonearm options of either the Series 309 or Series V, both of which come complete with internal Crystal Cable wiring as standard. (A pre-fitted 309 is shown on the Model 15 MK2 above.)

The table is driven by a custom made bi-phase AC synchronous motor controlled by a highly advanced speed control unit (SCU). The SCU uses a dedicated DSP engine to generate two independent pure mathematical sine waves to provide (in SME’s words) “total control of frequency, phase relationship, and amplitude.”

Playback speeds are 33⅓ and 45rpm with independent memory settings enabled via a switched encoder. Pitch speed increments/decrements of ±0.01% are made by a rotary control on the SCU’s fascia. The SCU case is CNC-machined from billet polymer resin. A separate power unit is also provided.

The dimensions of the Model 15 MK2 table are given as 452 x 175 x 361mm (w/h/d), while the SCU is 150 x 85 x 295mm (w/h/d) and the power unit is 190 x 83 x 243mm (w/h/d). Weight is given as 18.73kg for the turntable, 2.52kg for the SCU, and 4.04kg for the power unit. Shipping weight is given as 29.1kg.

Finally, the SRP for the SME Model 15 MK2 turntable is £12,067, with the pre-fitted Series 309 tonearm as shown.

For more about SME, go here.
To find an authorized SME dealer, go here.