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Alastair Robertson-Aikman established The
Scale Model
Equipment Company in 1946. During the 1950’s the movement was away from model
making to precision engineering, principally parts for aircraft instruments and
business machines.
As an audio enthusiast, what we would today call an audiophile, and passionate about the accurate reproduction of music, he very soon became disenchanted with the so-called state-of-the-art tonearms of the day. Possessing the engineering expertise and capability, in 1959, he set out to make, for himself, a tonearm then nonpareil. Very soon he had a multitude of requests from friends who each wanted one for themselves. He cautiously put the arm on the market wondering whether the world was ready for so expensive and over-the-top arm. This arm developed into the SME3009/3012 series and very soon established itself as the finest tonearm in the world and by far the biggest seller in audio history. In the 50’s through to the early 80’s these arms were fitted or specified by virtually all manufacturers of turntables who did not make their own arms and so it has been from the 80’s through to current times with reference to the modern SME V and M2 series. The original arms are collector’s pieces today and the few that come onto the used market are invariably snapped up. Tens of thousands are still doing duty in upmarket systems around the globe. High End Audio carries virtually all spares for these historical giants. Today the company, renamed SME Limited in 1959 to reflect its changed focus, carries on all manufacture and processing in-house including design, toolmaking , CNC machining, pressure die-casting, injection moulding, metal finishing, electro-plating, anodising and other processes. The company was accredited under BS EN ISO 9001:2000 in 1992 for its quality assurance system. It boastes probably the largest and best equipped manufacturing facility devoted to precision pick-up arms and turntables. As in past times, SME lays valid claim to producing the World’s best tonearm. In the middle 80’s SME introduced their first turntable, the iconic Model 30. This has been updated to Mk.2 status and has been joined by the SME20/2 and SME10. Just added to the range is the new SME20/12 with new SME312s tonearm for those who must have a twelve-inch arm. SME also designs, engineers and manufactures for the medical and aerospace industries where the safety of lives are at stake and nothing short of perfection is permissible. This level of engineering is shared with their audio products. They are not pretty, as are some, but they are heroically made, heirloom products to be passed down from generation to generation. Mr. Robertson-Aikman still owns and runs the company and applies the same level of integrity and service commitment as over the past fifty years. |
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