OMG - I want, I want!

[Beechwoods]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Garrard-301-transcription-turntable-Oil-Bearing_W0QQitemZ280321352175QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK _AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables?hash= item280321352175&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318

Absolutely gorgeous. Looks like it's never been used!

Can't believe the price... one day, eh.

[Spectral Morn]

Very clean, but £1070 is that what these are selling for ?


Regards Neil

[Beechwoods]

I know - it's mad, and sad, to be honest. There are others that have finished at £1,500 recently. I'd love a 301, but at that price it's vastly overrated... a Lenco 88 might be more compatible with my pocket.

[John]

Lovelly deck and one of the best I seen The lenco 88 would be a great TT to upgrade but still quite expensive due to its rarity At the price the 301 going at I would go for EMT myself if I had the room and money

[Beechwoods]

The EMT's are lovely. I'll keep an eye open for one... you never know.

[Prince of Darkness]

Final price £1,223.00 :eek:, only about ten times what I paid for my 401;)
Superbly refurbished, all that work for a dustbug mark (most Garrards have one).
I am sort of jealous though.:wah:

[Marco]

Lovely stuff!

In an absolute sense the 301 may be 'overpriced', but think about it more laterally... How much would you pay now for a brand new one if they were still being made? And, what does £1200 buy brand new in today's turntable market: would it be anything like as well-engineered and of such fundamental high quality as a 301? Consider, for example, that a brand new LP12, fully tricked-out with Keel, etc, costs nearly £10k... :mental:

Yes, of course the 301 is just a motor unit and requires a plinth, tonearm and cartridge, but presuming one could obtain and/or make quality examples of those items for, say, less than £2k (some D.I.Yers and judicious Ebay plunderers I suspect could probably do it for much less), then how would the then £3k+ 301 fare against the £10k Linn or other ludicrously priced hi-end turntables currently available in today's marketplace? As always, think SPPV!

I feel that is how a purchase such as this should be viewed - that, and the fact this particular 301 is as minty mint as you're ever likely to find... T/Ts just aren't made like this anymore. Nope, chaps, for me it's a veritable bargain and if I wasn't so content with my modified Techy I'd have paid the asking price quicker than you could say 'set fire to a fruitbox today!' ;)

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

You're right, Marco. It's just a shame how they've shot up in the last year... £500 - £700 seemed the going rate a year ago. It's just out of my league at the moment :(

[Marco]

And with Christmas being so far away you can't even ask Santa - even your Birthday is ages away. Life's a bitch! :eyebrows:

Never mind, you don't need a turntable to play tapes! ;)

Marco.

[DSJR]

Sorry to dampen things a bit, but because the UK pound is so low now, we are seen as a bargain bin for cheap classic audio. If and when the £ recovers, prices will drop back.

If the 301 was made today, it would be regarded as an anachronism as the LP12 is becoming - once good but feeling it's age compared to more recent products. I'd cite the Spacedeck and a fully fettled Technics as two cheaper alternatives.

Whatever plinth the 301 is fitted in, it'll still rumble (or suffer midrange harmonics from the idler, even if the motor vibration is dealt with) and, without an external stabilised supply, it'll drift in speed with the mains, which may or may not be audible..

I've no complaints whatever about 301's/401's costing £300 or less, but a grand is obscene to me and a total waste of money IMO.

[Beechwoods]

To be honest my L75 Lenco sounds just as good as I remember my dads 301, but there's a nostalgic part of me that wants one anyway!

I do keep telling myself that one TT is enough... and tape machines are cheaper too ;)

But that one at the start of the thread is a really nice example :) :stalks:

[Marco]

Interesting, Dave.

You know I prefer the Techy (when suitably modified), otherwise I'd have bought a Garrard by now, but whilst I don't doubt what you've said is based on experience, it most certainly isn't representative of the Garrards I've heard belonging to the likes of Clive, Greg or Will on this forum - indeed far from it! :)

Marco.

[Will]

and Clive's, Greg's and Will's Garrards have Slate Plinths:smoking:

[Primalsea]

ME TOO!!

Mine has a Slate Plinth also:lolsign:

I dont find that I have any of the problems described but as is common it depends what mechanical condition its in and how its mounted. Unfortunately it can make Garrards seem a little poor and inconsistant.

[Marco]

Yep, guys, the slate factor could be highly significant. What Garrards, Lencos, SP10s, etc, are housed in contributes massively to their performance :)

I'd still take that mint 301 in a Slatedeck plinth, with a nice 12" arm and an SPU over almost any 'hi-end' turntable made today, and it would still be cheaper than most of them!

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

Back of the queue, I saw it first!

[baron]

I think I agree with Marco on this one, being lucky enough to have access to a 301 even in the original Heals 1960's cabinet it still knocked spots off our Rega Planar 3. It made us realise the only way to better it in our main system was to spend a lot more money on the Dais. Oh yes and before you ask there's no way my wife would let me put it in another plinth:). Still it's nice to keep one classic system;)

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk320/baron103/baa74a09.jpg

[Beechwoods]

And that is one hell of a classic system. I must say that my wife, normally unmoved by whatever I bring home in the way of hi-fi boxes, loves my new Quad gear too. It seems that Mrs Baron is as into it as we all are which is even better!

[baron]

Yes it certainly makes life easier if you both have the same interests:):)

[Beechwoods]

The whole bloody world has gone mad.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130294844050

What's a poor boy supposed to do?

[Primalsea]

Baron,

I must admit I was slightly disappointed that you don't have brown flock wall paper with orange circles and one of those penny farthing pictures made from gold twine on a black velvet background.:lolsign:

[baron]

Thats a good idea. We are about to redecorate:)

[symon]

How about this for an OMG I want!!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Quad-Speakers-33-and-303-and-Goldrin-Lenco-Turn-Table_W0QQitemZ320352507740QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_C onsumer_VintageAudio_RL?hash=item320352507740&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318

Wish I had the money for this set up!

[Beechwoods]

That looks like Baron's System - you might want to check it's all there Philip!

The ESL57's could easily go for £7-800 on their own. The Lenco looks in nice condition with standard plinth. I'm thinking it'll end at £900 something, maybe tip the £1000 mark...

[Marco]

Some nice idler pron here:

http://members.myactv.net/~je2a3/idlertt.htm

Which one do you fancy? :)

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

Oooh...

This one : Rex's 301 - Neat GA22s tonearm (front) and SME 3012 (back)
and this one: Mike Z's TD124 with FR64s

I've always thought the TD124 looked like a very classy deck. I have Thorens pegged somewhere in-between the Lenco's and the Garrard's, in terms of perceived desirability.

I must admit though, that if I were going to spend a decent wedge on a new TT it would have to be an old pro-deck, a Revox linear tracker or an EMT. I would just love to hear one of those 'built like a battleship' decks with a good cartridge in it...

[Mike]

Mike Z's TD124 with FR64s for me please! :)

[baron]

That looks like Baron's System - you might want to check it's all there Philip!


Yes its still there:lolsign:

[DSJR]

Having had personal experience of 401's when new (God, they varied "out of the box" and having helped two mates refurbish and set up their 301's, I think I can confirm their wonderful ways with LP reproduction, but all the idler driven decks I've heard (TD124 too) seem to have "rumble" harmonics in the midband that DD and springy belt drives don't have, namely a soft "chhhhhhhhh" noise (as in softened "k" sound as the Welsh say it- try saying it gently to yourself and you'll get the drift).

Quad 57's all seem to need work doing on them these days (like the now vintage Apogee Ribbons, many with flappy diaphragms).

I wouldn't mind a Keith Monks tonearm (they can be re-wired to get over the mercury baths apparently) and the Alphason HR100S is an amazing arm I remember.

[Beechwoods]

Well my radar needs adjusting. Someone got themselves an absolute bargain with this one..., mentioned earlier in the thread...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320352507740

[symon]

Wow! That's an amazing price for that set up. I thought it would go for much more than that too.