The bronze groundplate replace the original baseplate made of sheet metal with a more solid and resonance optimized baseplate made of bronze alloy. The bronze groundplate is from the mounting points compatible to the original dimensions of SME baseplate. Opposite of the original design of the tonearm with the bronze groundplate is fixed firmly and to the adjustment the entire bronze groundplate including tonearm shifted. The height of the bronze groundplate standard is 10 mm, so the tonearm comes approximately 7mm higher.
Bronze Groundplate “standard”
Bronze Groundplate “flat”
Bronze Groundplate “xh” (especially for Garrard 301/401)
The tonearm wins resolution, deeper and more controlled lows and a outstanding dynamic. Voices have more chest and instruments of more body. Nevertheless the SME change its classical character, but it sounds with these tweaks on a premier level.
| TWEAKS FOR SME 3009/3012 TONEARMS | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze Knife Edge Bearing Mk3 the original | (incl. mounting instructions) | 145,00 Euro |
| RCA Conversion Kit Version M | (for the modern versions of the SME 3009/3012 and M2 tonearms, incl. mounting instructions) | 45,00 Euro |
| RCA Conversion Kit Version O | (for the older versions of the SME 3009/3012 tonearms, incl. mounting instructions) | 45,00 Euro |
| RCA Conversion Kit Version A | (only for the SME 3009/3012 Series 1 tonearms, incl. mounting instructions) | 60,00 Euro |
| 5-Pin Conversion Kit H (horizontal 5-pin DIN) | (for the modern versions of the SME 3009/3012 and M2 tonearms) | 80,00 Euro |
| 5-Pin Conversion Kit V (vertikal 5-pin DIN) | (for the modern versions of the SME 3009/3012 and M2 tonearms, incl. mounting instructions) | 65,00 Euro |
| Bronze Groundplate flat | flat version for all SME 3009, 3012 and M2 tonearms, include mounting kit | 190,00 Euro |
| Bronze Groundplate standard | standard version for all SME 3009, 3012 and M2 tonearms, include mounting kit | 200,00 Euro |
| Bronze Groundplate xh extra high | extra high version (20mm) especially for Garrard 301/401, compatible with all SME 3009, 3012 and M2 tonearms. Mounting kit is include. | 320,00 Euro |
| Pure Silver Headshell Cable | (set of 4 headshell cables made from pure silver with high quality PTFE isolation) | 70,00 Euro |
The bronze groundplate fits on these tonearms:
- all models of the SME 3009 and the SME 3010-R (barring the SME 3009-3, these tonearm needs a speciel version)
- all models of the SME 3012
- all models of the new M2 tonearms
Review: TNT-Audio Bronze-Groundplate
This is a great result…
Again, the benefits of the modifications have been stronger than those normally gained with new cables or a change of pickup. This is a great result. Do I recommend the bronze base ? Yes, I recommend it for all SME knife edge bearing tonearms, as it is bringing only benefits and no losses, and last but not least, it is rather easy to do the modification.
Both tonearms now have a quality that is more than a threat to 12 inch Ortofon tonearms. Before, the Ortofon tonearms were said to have better bass performance compared to the SME knife edge tonearms, specially when using Ortofon SPU or similiar cartridges. Now, since this bronze base modification is available it is clear that SME tonearms can play powerful and dynamic with Ortofon SPU cartridges.
Read the full article on TNT-Audio (english)
Read the full article on TNT-Audio (italian)