Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Sme Model 12 MK2 Diamond Series

The Model 12 Diamond Series is a special edition of the SME Model 12 MK2 turntable, created to mark the 75th anniversary of the British company in 2021. Its defining feature is a hand-polished finish on the aluminium body with black chrome highlights, applied in a long manual process on top of the machined surface.

Key specs that matter

SME equips this version with its Series VI tonearm. Two speeds are offered, 33.33 and 45 rpm, and each keeps an independent memory setting, while fine pitch moves in steps of 0.01 percent of the chosen speed. The deck is 370 mm wide, 350 mm deep and 178 mm tall with the arm fitted. The deck weighs 21.26 kg. The spindle to arm distance is 215.35 mm, the speed control unit measures 170 x 305 x 68 mm and the power unit 190 x 243 x 83 mm, and the two boxes add 4.04 kg and 2.88 kg respectively, for a shipping weight of 33 kg.

Engineering and use context

Both the chassis and sub-chassis are CNC machined from high grade aluminium billet, and the base alone takes around 120 minutes on a 5-axis machine before hand work begins. Signal exits through RCA chassis connectors, and LEMO cables carry low power between the units. The sub-chassis floats on an isolation system, and four fully adjustable feet are mechanically decoupled from the main chassis. The aluminium alloy platter weighs over 4.6 kg and measures 305 mm across. It is extensionally damped, while its iso-damped upper face carries a finely scrolled diamond-turned finish. A substantial clamp working on the reflex principle holds the record down. Beneath it, a 19 mm spindle machined from tool steel with a high chrome content, then ground and super-finished, runs in a sealed housing with individually fitted sintered bronze bearings. Power reaches the platter from a bi-phase AC synchronous motor made specially for SME. Its speed control unit uses a dedicated DSP engine to generate two independent pure sine waves, and the separate power unit keeps the transformer away from audio cabling. The arm carries Crystal Cable signal wire with pure mono-crystal silver conductors in miniature format.

Pairing

A cartridge of the owner's choice goes into the factory-fitted arm, followed by a phono stage suited to its output. The deck and its two outboard boxes need a stable rack with room for all three units and short, tidy cable runs between them.

Alternatives

The SME Model 60 is the larger turntable in the same catalogue, fitted with the polymer resin Series VA arm.