SME Model 60/Series VA

As the successor to SME’s Model 30 flagship, the latest Model 60 contains a heady mix of old and new technologies. The two-tier chassis, now with elegant curves, is made from aluminium alloy and sits on four height-adjustable feet that are decoupled from the main, lower chassis by an internal multi-point isolation system.

Also fitted to this are the motor mounting pod and a connection box at the rear that serves to terminate the tonearm wiring to the output phono sockets.

One tower at each corner supports the upper (sub)chassis. Suspension is still achieved through a number of rubber support bands but the way in which they ‘carry’ the subchassis has been inverted – so they describe a wider circle at the top rather than at the bottom. The number of bands in each corner has increased from 12 to 15, while the supporting towers no longer incorporate a separate fluid damper in each column – additional bands instead providing lateral anchorage and damping.

Motive power to the platter is provided by a 24V AC motor, replacing the DC type used for the 30/2. Perhaps the most notable addition is the new ‘Series VA’ tonearm. This features a bearing yoke still made from a magnesium/aluminium alloy, but the arm tube is hewn from an ‘advanced polymer resin’ and machined from a solid block just like the magnesium alloy armtube of the standard Series V.