Toronto Audiofest 2019

SME Turntable and Tonearm, Ortofon Cartridge, VTL Amplification, Lumin Streamer, PMC Speakers, Nordost Cables

Robert Schryer  |  Oct 18, 2019

More great sound was had in retailer Audio Eden's room, where they were showcasing a system fronted by SME's Synergy all-in-one record player, which includes the SME model 12 turntable, SME lV arm with internal Crystal Cable wiring, an Ortofon Windfeld Ti MC cartridge, and a built-in phono stage made by Nagra ($CAD28,000 total cost)—but no kitchen sink.

I hate to say the price of the SME ensemble seems fair, but in hi-fi, where there are so many dubious places on which to plunk down 30 grand, the SME strikes me as a sure investment in musical pleasure. The Synergy was demoed with VTL's 6.5 Series ll preamp ($CAD21,000), a pair of VTL 450 Series lll monoblocks ($CAD31,000/pair), a Lumin T2 streamer ($CAD6995) connected to an external hard drive, a pair of passive PMC Fact 12 Signature speakers ($CAD28,500/pair), and Nordost cabling, the combination of which filled the room with warm, rich, and highly engaging sound.

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 19, 2019 - 6:27pm

... a Technics SL-1500C and $25K+ in your pocket?

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 19, 2019 - 8:02pm

Dubious says it best.

Are you "sure" that this stuff is a "sure" investment? Do you think that it's re-sellable? or that it will increase in sales price as the Modern Art Buyer Class suddenly discover a natural appreciation for SME?

I admire your youthful enthusiasm, bet you'll be invited to the next Big One.

Tony in Venice

rschryer's picture
Submitted by rschryer on October 19, 2019 - 8:29pm

...in musical pleasure. I'm not talking about cash.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 19, 2019 - 9:23pm

I'm up late after a stormy day of working outside coping with High winds.

I simply couldn't resist writing a series of my silliness stuff.

I'm happy happy with your doing that Big Show and your reporting.

You're one of the Great Talents that make Sterophile so fresh and effervescent .

I couldn't write to you if you weren't wonderful.

Of course, the door is wide open for responding with brilliant insights and wit.

My regret, ( and everyone else, it seems ) is that we hear & read so little from y'all.

Tyll and now Kal are gone, leaving a generous space for another gifted contributor.

I'm pulling for you.

Tony in Venice

ps. Stereophile needs a Canadian point of View ( Red Maple Leaf and all )

ps. 2.) I was trying to move that little curser with my touch pad but it refused to budge until i realized I was scrolling on my iPhone , not my touch pad. It took a solid minute of anger to finally look down at that dam phone sitting there. Good thing my wife didn't see that, she'd put me in Assisted Living within 3 days.

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