A vinyl-lover's perfect dream

This icon of British hi-fi celebrates its own diamond jubilee with a new super-expensive flagship turntable, which means - amazingly - that the very best just got even better

DETAILS

PRODUCT SME Model 60/ Series VA

ORIGIN UK

TYPE Belt-driven turntable/tonearm

WEIGHT 48kg

DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 557 x 212 x 417mm

FEATURES

● 33 and 45rpm

● Series VA tonearm

● Electronic speed control

DISTRIBUTOR SME Limited

WEBSITE sme.co.uk

If the engineers at SME felt the need for a motivational quote or two while working on the company’s new turntable, arguably Rolls-Royce co-founder Sir Henry Royce’s: “Take the best that exists and make it better” would have been an ideal choice. This summed up the challenge facing the UK company in designing a successor to the previous Model 30 flagship – the result is the £50,000 SME Model 60, which has a pretty tough act to follow.

The Model 30, originally released in 1989, and its 30/2 and 30/12 updates are regarded by some as the pinnacle of turntable engineering, and the fact the arrival of SME’s new flagship has been over 30 years in the making suggests that the company wasn't in any rush to topple its own crown. For those wondering what happened to the Models 40 and 50, the 60's appellation celebrates the diamond anniversary of SME's first hi-fi product, the 3009 tonearm released back in 1959.

Elegant curves