It certainly forced me to reassess my opinion of SME arms in general. The IV.Vi helped create a bigger, more finely focused, somewhat smoother picture that bettered in every way an already impressive performance. With the IV.Vi on the 'table, there was a noticeable improvement in low-level resolution, retrieval of inner detail, and, not surprisingly, soundstage depth, with back-of-hall events coming into finer focus. The IV.Vi tonearm raises the Model 10's price to $8250, and it raised the level of performance as well. The 10/M10 combo had far superior focus, clarity, and image specificity, though I felt that the M10 arm was not retrieving low-level details from familiar records-much as the Yorke arm hadn't on the Yorke 'table, though tonally that system, too, was a fine, essentially neutral performer.Ī few weeks into the review period, Sumiko sent me a tonearm upgrade: the SME IV.Vi, which features a nondetachable headshell, lower-tolerance (higher-quality) Abec 7 bearings, SME's more sophisticated mounting system, internal Magnan Vi wiring, a damping trough, a better finish, and a price of $2750.
The Model 10's predecessor in my system, the Basis Debut turntable that I reviewed in January, sounds softer, more plush, and somewhat more rich overall, particularly in the midrange-at least with the Graham or Immedia arms. The Kimber TAK silver cable revealed greater detail, a far richer midrange, and rounder, more three-dimensional images. The SME cable tended toward the hard and brittle. What's more, changing the arm cable-from the SME-supplied DIN-to-RCA connector to the Silver Audio, or any of the three variants of Kimber I'm currently auditioning-had a profound effect on the sound.
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