Strathclyde STD-305M with SME III

[martinwtaylor]

I have just won this turntable on eBay and would appreciate any information or history on it. I have a boxed SME III in the garage which I am going to attempt to mate with it. According to the owner, the deck is cut for a Mayware Formula IV arm, which I believe to use a small hole, so I think I'll be able to open it out to the SME standard. Any potential pitfalls there?

Since the SME III is low mass, I'm thinking of buying a Shure M97xE or Goldring 1042 cartridge. Anything else I should consider?

[long-time-dead]

As far as I can recollect (no doubt corrected if I am wrong) the STD 305M was the precursor to my first turntable (a 305S).

It was made in Glasgow and the main designer was John Gordon - he went on to manufacture my current turntable, the Source - considered to be a Linn-beater in it's day.

My 305S was great - fantastically stable when bouncing correctly.

I used an AT1120 tonearm with AT110E originally, moved to a Linn Basik/K9 and then a Mission 774/Denon DL??? - resting finally with an Infinity Black Widow/ATOC5

If it works and is in decent nick - well done !!!!!!

[JaS]

If you are an STD fan you can't go far wrong by visiting willbewill's site

http://members.lycos.co.uk/willbewill/

As for the SME you are right that with the slot mounting of the arm it may be possible to modify the original board but its difficult to say if everything will fall right without having it in front of you? The only potential pitfall is getting the mounting distance woefully wrong and damaging both your hearing and your records! Just be sure to use the correct template to fit the arm - there are dimensions, manuals and the like in the download area that should help here.

Regards,
JaS

ps congrats on picking up a great turntable.

[martinwtaylor]

Thanks all. I will certainly look at the deck and arm board carefully before deciding to cut it for the SME. It looks like the seller will give me first refusal on the Mayware arm, which I'm also considering. However, I love SME arms (used to have a Series IV) and would prefer to see the Series III in action again.

Any advice on cartridges? I have a budget of about £100 and need MM for my phono amp (Gram Amp 2SE).

[Ron Toolsie]

It was made in Glasgow and the main designer was John Gordon - he went on to manufacture my current turntable, the Source - considered to be a Linn-beater in it's day.

I have a Source with Zeta/VdH One cartridge in the garage somewhere. I seem to remember this was designed and made by one Mike Moore, not John Gordon. Great table and it ate the LP12/Ittok for breakfast when I did the comparison when it firsts came out, but it eats through bearing oil like crazy. Mine needed changing every couple months or the sound would get soft and compressed.

[long-time-dead]

Hi Ron

Glad to meet a fellow owner !

The reason I mentioned John Gordon was that I bought my 3D power supply from him directly and we had a long chat about it.

Anyway, water under the bridge now !!!

Mine is fine with oil - never had a problem.............

What oil do you use ?

And why is it in the garage ? What are you using at the moment ???

[Ron Toolsie]

The Source (purchased July 1984) is in the garage for a couple of reasons.
a. The VdH One cartridge on it is denuded of the stylus.
b. The tonearm lead is has been modifed to feed a balanced-in phono-stage; I now use naim gear.
c. I found a used LP12 with Syrinx PU3 and a DV17 for $500. Of course I had to replace the plinth, subchassis, bearing, inner platter, motor, arm and armboard, so it was not really such a great deal. The PU3 is still in very good condition, but I am now using the Aro.
d. The cosmetics are blemished. The lid was too low-slung to allow use with the Zeta, so I cut out an unsightly hole in the top using the only tool I had at hand-a soldering iron, and then had to place an inverted cereal bowl on top of that to deter dust from entering.

The Source was initially supplied with light weight 3-in-1 oil that went off every few months. I ended up using Mobil One oil about 15 years ago which never seemed to need changing.

I really must rewire the Sources armlead and try it out with a cheapo cartridge. I too had a custom-built DC power supply to replace the teeny-weeny one that the original one came with.

[David_Young]

Good to see other STD owners are still around and enthusiastic.

I've just purchased a 305M from the aforementioned "willbewill". It's fiited with a modded RB250 arm, but I'm undecided as to the best cartridge to pair with this.

Could any of you good forum members recommend a shortlist. It's being used with Meridian 101/103 +2PSU's and Royd speakers. (I also have a Systemdek iiX/900 which I'll be comparing it to.

Thanks
Dave