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View Full Version : Why isn't there any coverage about this gem?



Yiangos
30-01-2009, 11:46
I am refering to garrard 501.The one by Loricraft.It looks marvelous and i bet it sounds this way.

Filterlab
30-01-2009, 12:08
Maybe nobody has one, or maybe it doesn't sound marvellous.

Yiangos
30-01-2009, 12:14
Good point :lol:

Filterlab
30-01-2009, 12:23
;)

However, Garrard decks are usually very good.

YNWaN
30-01-2009, 12:27
The main reason seems to be because the 501 doesn't realy exist in a 'buy one now sense' and quite possibly not even in an 'order one, or build me one' sense.

The only mentions I have read of it state that the price is betwen £10,000 and £12,000 but this is some time ago!

I think this quoted post from a chap on the Wam tells it all:


How many of you know this exists? Having given up on finding a modern turntable to beat the 301 a trip to Loricraft was in order both to get my 301 serviced & to audition their power supply & see the prototype of the 601.

First things off- Loricraft is in the back of beyond in a tiny industrial estate in what I assume to once have been a pig farm. Secondly- it's not geared up for serious A/B comparisons; any difference heard between equipment has to be night & day as their demo system consists of a Quad 33/303 driving small Heybrook speakers. It is run by enthusiaists who know their stuff but I could never help feeling that they could be so much more successful with a serious financial advisor in tow.

The 501 was Loricraft's "new" Garrard & is now available in small quanties for £12k. Never got to hear it though they had one in the workplace. The 601 is their "budget" & costs £6,5k including the new power supply. Unfortunately it hadn't been optimally aligned but on listening it gave a very good account of itself. I was not convinced it was an improvement on my 301 but it was the first t/t to come close. When it's done & dusted I'll probably return for a longer session. What did knock me over was the power supply for the 301- mine for a very knock down price. Any criticism one may have of the 301 vanished- I've never felt it to have a "veiled" treble but the images were immediately more solid & stereo spread, definition & all the other hifi criteria improved on what was already a great performance. So 301 owners- something to investigate.

At the end of the day however Loricraft is a cottage industry if ever there was one. What would it take to convert it to a major profit maker like Rega? Would it be the same? On the other hand wouldn't you at least like to demo the 501 or 601 without getting lost in the horse rearing area of Berkshire?

If you look on the Loricraft web site the 501 is not mentioned at all (mostly record cleanining machines).

This site has some nice pictures http://www.perfectsound.co.uk/Garrard501.htm but I notice that they are of the same 501 I have seen before and, I suspect, the only one ever built.

Yiangos
30-01-2009, 13:10
I thought it was on a kinda limited production albeit run by a very small number of enthusiasts and yes,built in a farm-like place but didn't know it was a one off.it is sad though because it is a lovely piece of equipment.

YNWaN
30-01-2009, 13:38
I don't think it was intended as a 'one-off' but all the reviews and internet pictures I have ever seen have been of the same one - if they have built any others it is very few - looks to be very nicely built though (not to my aesthetic taste but lovely quality).

Peter Stockwell
30-01-2009, 13:52
I think a handful were made, it's not "really" a Garrard. Certainly inspired by the 301 and 401. I think there was a 601 that followed, too.

http://www.garrard501.com/garrard601.html

Don't know what happened to the 501 and 601 projects.

Yiangos
30-01-2009, 14:04
Peter,for lack of a better word."buried",as it happens lately with many brands.I've notived
that in recent years,at least from 2003-2003 onwards,magazines have a certain attitute towards certain companies.They do not review their products,they do not cover then during shows and generally,they do not mentione them at all !So,what happenes to those companies eventually? Simply,they "die".