SME Series V

摘要

SME's notorious reticence to look only toward the future has resulted in a curious omission: the company's Series Vtonearm just passed its 25th Anniversary without so much as a round of drinks in some bar to mark the occasion. Yes, it lives in the shadow of an illustrious predecessor, the Model 3009/11 Improved, an arrr that sold over 1,250,000 units. No, the Series V did not set the audio world alight as did the 3009. But 1961 and 1986 weren't merely 25 years apart chronologically: the entire audio scene had changed radically in what was an unusually fecund period. When Alastair Robertson-Aikman, aka AR-A, unleashed the Model 3009/II a half-century ago, the number of serious tonearms on the market could be counted on three hands. By the time he unveiled the Series V in 1986, the choice of high-end arms on offer easily exceeded 100-and CD had arrived in the interim. If the launch of the V said anything about AR-A, it's that he had the sheer chutzpah to release a costly tonearm - £1200 at its launch, or approximately £3100 in today's money - when many manufacturers were contemplating a wholly digital future. Equally, if the Series V says anything about SME circa 2012, its current retail price of £2392.55 (including 20% VAT) indicates that the Series V has deflated in real terms. What remains is a small fee to pay for what some - including this writer - consider to be the finest all-round tonearm on the planet.