What arm for a Garrard 401 - 12" SME M2 or 12" Jelco?

[gkold67]

I would like to ask for people's experience with the following 12" tonearms - SME M2-12 and Jelco 750TE?

I have a Garrard 401 which I will get plinthed. I listen to predominantly 70, 80s rock, pop and metal, so am leaning towards a Denon 103 or 103R cart (and which ought to suit either of these 12" arms).

How would the Jelco 750 TE and SME M2 compare? I am not asking in terms of "better" or "worse" as I am sure they each have their strengths. Rather sonically how do they compare in their presentation - is one softer or more relaxed, or more rhythmic or bigger sounding, or more/less detailed etc.

Basically I am after a setup that produces a big generous sound that forgives the less well recorded LPs I listen to! So I don't want something too clinical sounding.

There is a significant difference in cost, the Jelco being around £400 and the SME around £700, but they both seem reasonable value given the engineering. As part of the appeal of the Garrard lies in its retro looks, for appearance reasons I do not want to pursue the modded Rega route.

Any advice gained from the coalface would be much appreciated!

Thanks in anticipation,

 

[Richard Dunn]

I would like to ask for people's experience with the following 12" tonearms - SME M2-12 and Jelco 750TE?

I have a Garrard 401 which I will get plinthed. I listen to predominantly 70, 80s rock, pop and metal, so am leaning towards a Denon 103 or 103R cart (and which ought to suit either of these 12" arms).

How would the Jelco 750 TE and SME M2 compare? I am not asking in terms of "better" or "worse" as I am sure they each have their strengths. Rather sonically how do they compare in their presentation - is one softer or more relaxed, or more rhythmic or bigger sounding, or more/less detailed etc.

Basically I am after a setup that produces a big generous sound that forgives the less well recorded LPs I listen to! So I don't want something too clinical sounding.

There is a significant difference in cost, the Jelco being around £400 and the SME around £700, but they both seem reasonable value given the engineering. As part of the appeal of the Garrard lies in its retro looks, for appearance reasons I do not want to pursue the modded Rega route.

Any advice gained from the coalface would be much appreciated!

Thanks in anticipation,

Find yourself an arm you like and send it to Speedy Steve for conversion to 12 inch. We have both had our Pioneer PL-71 (Acos) arms done - luverly. See his thread in DIY.

 

[RobHolt]

Aslo don't exclude the old SME 3012.
The standard length 3009 S2 will never be my favourite arm but hearing one last year demonstrated that it can sound very decent, dispelling old memories of it being poor.

Nice to have the standard bayonet shell fitting.