It has a detachable headshell that uses the pin layout SME pioneered decades ago, which hobbyists now refer to as the international pattern, and a two-piece tungsten counterweight. The M2-12R incorporates a J-shaped armtube made from thin-walled (0.010') stainless-steel tubing. The ability to keep secrets is in many ways an admirable quality, but I can't quite fathom why SME has not spent the last 11 years crowing about this well-made and evidently fairly priced productР’вЂ”especially in light of the recent success accorded various vintage-vibe transcription-length tonearms from Schick, EMT, et al. John assumed, as I did, that the M2-12R was a recently introduced vintage reissue, not unlike the 301 itself. I was surprised to learn that this arm has been in production since 2008 during a recent visit to my home, Technical Editor John Atkinson expressed the same degree of surprise. The M2-12R, though, is built with precision-made ball-and-race bearings rather than the knife-edge bearings of yore.

Its design is outwardly similar to that of various vintage SMEs. (I was once told that the latter specification changed with the introduction of the Garrard 401, but the source was someone whose expertise I have, in recent months, come to question.)Р”Р„ few observations are in order regarding the newly manufactured (if not newly designed) SME M2-12R tonearm. There were also a couple of details I couldn't see, and which Ajay Shirke kindly chased down for me: The platter bearing's thrust pad, which I believe is made of sintered bronze, is flat rather than domed, and the bearing spindle's taper, where it meets the bore or the platter, is 2.2 degrees I believe both specs are characteristic of stock, post-1957 Garrard 301s. A thick felt washer, something that wants a drop of oil every now and then, was in place at the rim of the platter-bearing well. (On virtually every old 301 I've seen, this element has been in such poor condition that the original intent is hard to divine.)Р”Р„s on the originals, the wiring housing that's bolted to the motorР’вЂ”within are the links that allow switching between 120V and 240V operationР’вЂ”was made of Bakelite: God's own favorite thermoplastic. (Upon disassembly for servicing, the original rivets must be drilled out.) The motor unit's below-deck switch wiring was isolated from the underside of the chassis by a purpose-made spring.

Although SME claims that the motors in all of their new 301s have been rebuilt to original specsР’вЂ”the motor in my review sample appeared even stronger than that in my own Garrard, so I'm certain that's trueР’вЂ”I was surprised to see that the retainer plate for the motor's lower bearing was reinstalled with rivets rather than by tapping the housing for a new set of miniature bolts. With the new motor unit freed from its surroundings, I noted a number of details of interest to hardcore 301 fanatics and restorers. Perhaps SME feels there's a sonic advantage to doing things their way. I was mildly surprised not to see threaded inserts embedded in the plinthР’вЂ”such as I would have built into the homemade plinth for my own 301, had I the means (not to mention the skill) to lay them out with the requisite precision. I wasn't surprised to note that those nuts were scarcely more than finger tight, given my own observations that the 301 sounds much better when those and other of its fasteners are not over-torqued. The 301 fastens to the plinth with four bolts that pass down through its cast-aluminum chassis the chassis is isolated from the plinth with thick, pliant washers, both above and below the wooden slabР’вЂ”here is the explanation why, in all the photos we've seen of the new 301, there appears to be a slight gap between the motor unit and the top surface of the plinthР’вЂ”and the bolts are secured from beneath with thicker-than-average nuts, just as I've seen on most original Garrards.

Garrard zero 100 spindle