A Longer Reach Across the Record
The SME M2-12 is the twelve-inch arm of SME’s Series M2, built in England for record players with room for a long pick-up arm. SME makes the SME M2-12 from the elements proven on the nine-inch model: a light tube of polished stainless steel, damped inside, a detachable headshell of die-cast magnesium, one tungsten weight for balance and ball races that are fully shielded. The long arm keeps the stiffness and rigidity SME judges right for every kind of cartridge.
Less Error, Less Distortion
Length is the advantage. Set further from the record spindle, the pivot of the SME M2-12 lets the stylus cross the side with a smaller departure from the line of the groove, and SME states that the distortion arising from lateral tracking error is well below anything a nine-inch arm can achieve. The trade for that accuracy is a little more effective mass, and a deck built around the longer arm.
The Magnesium Headshell and Collet
Where the tube ends, a magnesium headshell, pressure die-cast for lightness and rigidity, carries the cartridge. SME’s collet holds shell and arm with one-piece solidity yet still permits azimuth correction before the final tightening; with the stylus resting on a small mirror, any lean from the vertical shows at once, and a quarter turn of the clamp bolt frees the shell for the adjustment.
One Weight, Two Duties
Balance and tracking force share one tungsten weight on the SME M2-12. Turned along the thread, the weight first floats the arm level, or a touch low at the front, with the cartridge in place; turned further forward, the same weight applies the downforce, and the letters on the indicator at the front of the weight divide each revolution into quarters. A backlash eliminator on the precision screw holds every setting true, for cartridges weighing between five and twelve grams.
Shielded Races and a Damped Tube
Ball races of superb quality, low in friction and fully shielded, carry the SME M2-12 in both axes, and the stainless steel tube, internally damped and highly polished, is the element SME credits with sparkling and uncoloured reproduction. Inside, the wiring is LCOFC, and the signal leaves through a balanced hybrid cable with gold-plated RCA connections and an independent ground system, ready for a phono stage of the owner’s choosing.
A Turntable Built for Twelve Inches
SME is clear that the M2-12 calls for a turntable intended for twelve-inch arms, because the pivot of the long arm stands much further out from the record spindle. On a board not yet prepared, SME’s mounting template marks the cut, and once the arm is fitted, the protractor guides the horizontal tracking angle as the base is moved on the bedplate. A thumbwheel sets the height, the fluid-damped lift sets the stylus down with composure, and floors that carry severe vibration can be met with SME’s FD-M2, an accessory fluid damper the arm is built to accept.
Where the M2-12 Sits in the Series
The nearest relations make the choice clear. The SME M2-9 has the same magnesium headshell and single tungsten weight on a nine-inch tube, the length SME expects most owners to use, while the SME M2-12R keeps twelve inches and moves to SME’s aluminium S2-R headshell, Silver Litz wiring and a two-stage counterbalance for heavier cartridges.
Reserving the M2-12 at Audio Lounge
Reserve the SME M2-12 online and Audio Lounge keeps the arm aside at the Wigmore Street showroom in London until collection. The team can advise on decks made to take a twelve-inch arm, on a partnering cartridge among the moving coil cartridges and on the set-up itself, and the wider range of tonearms sits alongside for comparison.
About SME
Years before the first SME arm, the company now settled in Steyning, West Sussex, was machining parts for aircraft. The Scale Model Equipment Company began in 1946 under Alastair Robertson-Aikman, and by 1950 the business was producing precision aircraft components for firms such as Rolls-Royce, Hawker and Martin-Baker. When a pick-up arm he had made for personal use in 1959 drew warm praise from friends in the audio trade, a new factory was built to meet demand and the company took the name SME Limited. Machining, pressure die casting, metal finishing and anodising still happen within SME’s own walls in West Sussex, serving turntables and arms as well as aerospace, Formula 1 and medical work. See every SME turntable and tonearm held in the Audio Lounge range.
Questions About the SME Series M2-12
What is the SME Series M2-12?
The SME Series M2-12 is a twelve-inch precision pick-up arm and the longest model in SME’s Series M2, made by SME in England and sold without a cartridge. Intended for decks with room for a long arm, the SME M2-12 combines a highly polished stainless steel tube, damped internally, with a detachable magnesium headshell that allows azimuth correction, a single tungsten balance weight and ball races fully shielded in both axes.
What does the extra length of the SME M2-12 bring?
Lower tracking error, and so less distortion. SME states that distortion from lateral tracking error on the SME M2-12 is at least 25 per cent lower than any nine-inch arm can achieve, and the maximum tracking error SME quotes for the M2-12 is 0.010 degrees per millimetre, against 0.013 on the M2-9. The trade-off is an effective mass of typically 12 g rather than 9.5 g, and the need for a deck designed around twelve inches.
How does the SME M2-12 differ from the M2-12R?
Above all in headshell, balance and wiring. The SME M2-12 carries a die-cast magnesium headshell fixed by a collet, one tungsten weight for 5 to 12 g cartridges, tracking forces up to 2.5 g, LCOFC wiring and 12 g of effective mass. The M2-12R moves to the aluminium S2-R shell, drawn in by two pins, adds a two-stage counterbalance for cartridges as heavy as 38 g and 5 g of force, with Silver Litz wiring and 18 g effective mass.
What cartridge weights does the SME M2-12 accept?
Anything from 5 to 12 g, with the one tungsten weight doing the balancing and the tracking force reaching 2.5 g at most. SME notes that the SME M2-12 suits a broad range of cartridges, medium and low compliance types included. Fixing centres follow the usual 12.7 mm standard, alloy screws and nuts are packed with the arm, and the leads end in 1.2 mm receptacles that push onto the pins without solder. A cartridge is selected separately.
What does a turntable need for the SME M2-12?
A design made for twelve-inch arms, as SME specifies. The SME M2-12 calls for a spindle-to-pivot distance of 295.6 mm, 46 mm of space beneath the mounting surface and a mounting height between 63 and 87 mm, with a 51 mm radius kept clear behind for the balance weight. Four M3 screws hold the bedplate, with nuts and washers where the board is not tapped, and SME’s FD-M2 accessory damper can be added where floor vibration is severe.
How are anti-skate and the arm lift set on the SME M2-12?
Both with SME’s own hardware. For anti-skate, thread the filament through the guide pulley housing, pass the loop over the anti-skate lever and drop the loop into the groove that matches the tracking force, with the filament at roughly 90 degrees to the lever while the stylus sits over the outer groove of a twelve-inch record. Lift height changes using the 0.89 mm wrench, inserted through the small hole in the lift and turned a few degrees at a time.
How are height and alignment set on the SME M2-12?
Height comes from the VTA thumbwheel: release the pillar clamp screw by one turn, turn the wheel clockwise to raise the arm, and use the protractor, which doubles as a height gauge, to bring the tube level with the record before locking the screw. For alignment, release the two base clamp nuts, slide the base along the bedplate and rest the stylus in the small cross on the protractor until the outlines of arm and protractor coincide.
Which figures describe the SME M2-12?
Effective mass comes to 12 g on the SME M2-12, and the arm weighs 675 g net. From pivot to stylus the arm measures 308.81 mm, the spindle-to-pivot distance is 295.6 mm and overhang 13.21 mm, with 17.62 degrees of offset and 93.47 mm of linear offset. The outer and inner null points lie at 120.90 and 66.04 mm, maximum tracking error stays within 0.010 degrees per millimetre, and the audio lead runs to 1.2 m.
What does the SME M2-12 arrive with?
Packed with the arm are the detachable magnesium headshell, SME’s audio lead, the bias weight together with the bias guide, the mounting template, the alignment protractor and SME’s instruction book. Shell hardware means a finger lift, two washers and a pair of alloy fixing screws with nuts; for mounting there are four M3 x 20 mm screws, four nuts, four washers and four arm washers. Three hexagon wrenches, a warranty card and a silica gel sachet complete the contents.
How is the SME M2-12 reserved and collected?
Reserved online, then collected in person. The SME M2-12 is available for collection only, at the Audio Lounge showroom in Wigmore Street, London, and does not travel by post. Before the visit, Audio Lounge can answer questions about twelve-inch turntables, cartridges or set-up over the phone, by email or face to face.
