Go for a TD124 Hamish
Location: Yorks
Posts: 16,643
I'm Nobody.
Go for a TD124 Hamish
Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness
Posts: 2,614
I'm Dave.
Hamish
I have had both a 301 and a 401. Foolishly I sold my 301 for £15, and the guy I sold it to seemed quite happy with it as he rode off on his bicycle. I still have the 401, but it's not currently being used, and unfortunately the previous owner took a hacksaw to part of the baseplate - which spoils the appearance a bit.
My 301 had a booklet with it showing the various measurements of wow, flutter, rumble etc., but I figured it had been tested in days when mono LPs were the norm. The major issues I had were with the idler wheel, and the main bearing. There may also be issues with electrical induction, and possibly also variable playing weight due to the powerful motor under the platter. I was aware of rumble when playing stereo LPs, but speed stability sounded OK, unlike some other decks.
Re the actual power etc of the 301 or 401 units - it's very good. My understanding of some of the refurbished units (the kind that get's sold to Japan) is that they may be very good - with upgrades to the bearing and idler wheel etc (maybe new bearing designs), but correspondingly very expensive (£ks).
At current prices I suspect that this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Garrard-301-Tr...item19bfd92b71 might still be worthwhile at up to £500 - but I can't say more than that.
I'll be interested to know how your search turns out, and whether you go for one.
Last edited by dave2010; 05-10-2010 at 12:20. Reason: grammar - "the"
Dave
301's were crippled by their plinths back then and also by the manufacturing tolerances, especially in 401's in my personal experience - they were still being made in small numbers when I started. I'd respectfully suggest that a thorough service and proper understanding of the bearing (rather than wholesale replacement of supposedly inappropriate parts) will transform it for the better. A good plinth all but removes the motor harmonics and I doubt the bearing was that noisy anyway.
Tear down these walls; Cut the ties that held me
Crying out at the top of my voice; Tell me now if you can hear me
Location: Southampton
Posts: 451
I'm Rob.
Mighty Ant is selling a really nice 301 in a Russ Collinson plinth with a jelco 12" arm on the Wam.
Rob
not to bad a price either
Jon
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
Set up
Lafayette el84 power amp , Audio note M1 pre , Tannoy Sterlings, Garrard 301 , SME 3012 , puresound P10, Ortofon SPU, Cambridge CXN streamer
Micro mega Duo 3 cd transport ,
Location: California (San Francisco Bay Area)
Posts: 170
I'm Mark.
Now don't go yelling at me, but if you really wanted a "black and White turntable
with a teak trim of some sorts," could you not just have painted the technics
and fashioned a wooden frame for it.