Who it comes up against
15 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Romantic brief, the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G) keeps the slot clearly.
With the Technics SL-1200G, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Technics SL-1200G gives up mechanical hush under the Romantic weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
13 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Anchored brief, the Vertere Groove Runner X keeps the slot decisively.
With the Vertere DG-X Sabre Lite Pack, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere DG-X Sabre Lite Pack gives up mechanical hush under the Anchored weighting.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
9 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Anchored brief, the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) keeps the slot decisively.
With the Pro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart), the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Pro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart) gives up mechanical hush under the Anchored weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
6 lost · Silent Path, Twin Arms, Vocals-First
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Encounter Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
6 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference, Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Michell TecnoArm 2 keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the Michell Gyro 2025, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Michell Gyro 2025 gives up mechanical hush under the Silent Path weighting.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
1 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms, Vocals-First
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Roksan Attessa Unipivot tonearm keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Silver Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Illustrious Mk5 keeps the slot clearly.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
1 lost · PRaT
Against the PRaT brief, the Michell T8 keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the Michell Gyro 2025, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Michell Gyro 2025 gives up mechanical hush under the PRaT weighting.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Onyx Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Alliance Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Rega RB330 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Technics S-shape aluminium tonearm (SL-1500C/CS) keeps the slot clearly.
With the Technics SL-1500CS (with cart), the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Technics SL-1500CS (with cart) gives up mechanical hush under the Silent Path weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
12-inch M2 with reduced tracking errorSME M2-12 12-inch positioning
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the ProJect Tonearm 9" Carbon/Alu (X2 B) keeps the slot clearly.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Rega RB880 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the SME M2-12 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.