Current Garrard 401 prices

[ost_]

Hello all
I've been toying with the idea of getting a 2nd 401. It's a long story so I won't bore you with the details but I already have a spare 401 plinth, tonearm, cart, SUT, phono pre; basically everything except the tt itself.
So, been looking in all the usual places and it appears unfettled 401s have rocketed in price compared to what I paid around 10 years ago. Of course, I get it to an extent, but still, it's quite a shock for someone such as myself who hasn't been paying attention for several years.
I guess what I would like to ask, given the current climate, what can one expect to get in terms of condition for around £500? Or am I being ridiculous even thinking I can pick up a 401 these days for that kind of money?
Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Made in 1968]

Yep and i have great issues with it..

[WESTLOWER]

You are in the right ball park for a decent 401.
I would imagine £500-£600 is very possible....

[WESTLOWER]

Yep and i have great issues with it..

You didn't answer the Pete's query
What do you have great issues with?

[Made in 1968]

The prices of them regardless of the condition & functionality..

[Mikeandvan]

You see them on Ebay for around £500, personally I would want a service on such an old TT, may'be you can do that yourself?

[graham67]

Imo, your estimate is about right. Might be worth putting a wanted on this forum and the wam.
I would also factor in getting a PSU as Speed stability is important to realise the potential of the 401.

[ost_]

Thanks for the replies gents.
Mike - yes I would definitely expect to need it serviced, maybe even do it myself if not too big a job.
Graham - thanks for your input. I'm not totally convinced about the PSU upgrade to be honest. My current 401 runs perfectly well without.
Of course, ymmv, but I have come to the conclusion there's absolutely nothing wrong with a well fettled standard 401, paired with a good arm and more importantly the cart.
In hindsight I wouldn't have bothered with the bearing upgrade I have as the 401 standard bearing is perfectly fine. The money I spent on it at the time would have been much better put towards a cart, again imho that is.

[Ali Tait]

Yes it sounds fine until you try a decent PSU. I have one of the Longdog ones and it makes a rather large improvement.

[DiveDeepDog]

I'd agree £500 upwards, I'd pay more for early flush strobe in nice condition. I've had a few and the older ones do seem a but more solidly put together.

I've heard the Longdog PS, not at home though so I'm indecisive, however, 2 things spring to mind. £900 PS for a £5-600 motor unit, and reports of them being quieter and more refined sort of misses the point of Garrard? *

*I may change my mind when I get one at home.

[Chas B]

401s seemed to hover around the £450 mark for ages so I suppose it had to happen. Possibly spurred on by the SME/ Garrard buy? Good value compared to the 301.

[Made in 1968]

15 years ago i paid £75 for a mint '401' with SME '3009' in SME'2000' sold it 5 years later on for £100.00. My mate bought just the motor unit around the same time for £85. Even now i would sell a '401' for £100. Ive alway always under cut myself with asking prices, always cos thats how i am. I cant stand greedy oportunists that work around artificially created price points..

[Ali Tait]

Have a lovely NOS 401 tucked away, will fettle it when I get time.

[Wakefield Turntables]

401's were going for the £250 price mark when I started looking. I bought a barn find for £200 and spent quite a bit doing it up. You don't need to spend £895 on a PSU. A lot of the benefits can be gained by careful lateral thinking.

[ost_]

Wow, £900 for a Longdog PSU upgrade, unfortunately that's way out of my league given current circumstances!
Andrew, please could you elaborate, what are you referring to in your comment about lateral thinking?
Andre, wow, £75 is very good indeed! Btw love your profile photo :)
My memory is sketchy but I seem to remember paying around £375 for my 401, and it must've beeen around 8-9 years ago.
Thanks again guys.

[Ali Tait]

One for sale here, near NOS unit he'll sell for £600-

https://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/garrard-401-plinth-sme-m2-9.236449/

[ost_]

Thanks for the link Ali, I'm still only toying with the idea however! :D
Reading up a bit, the LDA PSU basically just 'purifies' the incoming electricity?
I already have an AC noise filter on my audio system mains supply, and the system receives power via the Sine SRT-3KV, linked below, which is basically a voltage regulator. So, would I still benefit from another box just for the 401 PS?
Thanks guys.

http://sineworld.com/html/voltage_regulator/srt3kv.html

[Mikeandvan]

Thanks for the link Ali, I'm still only toying with the idea however! :D
Reading up a bit, the LDA PSU basically just 'purifies' the incoming electricity?
I already have an AC noise filter on my audio system mains supply, and the system receives power via the Sine SRT-3KV, linked below, which is basically a voltage regulator. So, would I still benefit from another box just for the 401 PS?
Thanks guys.

http://sineworld.com/html/voltage_regulator/srt3kv.html

Yeh that's all it does, ridiculous money to spend on a power supply. I use a Power inspired AG1500 which does the same thing, only it costs much less - can be had for £300 used, they're nearly always in excellent condition anyway, and powers up to 4 audio units rather than just one.

[graham67]

As I understand it the LDA doesn't just purify the mains it regenerates a 230v output (on the mk1 model) similar to the Power Inspired 1500AG. The LDA does also clean up the supply though i am not qualified to comment on what this means. I have both units and for the money the 1500AG does a great job outputting a stable 230v which solves the pitch instability of the early 401 run on mains. As mentioned above, it can also be used for other source components,though i still plug the amplifier into the wall socket.
However, there is no denying that the LDA power supply is a worthwhile step up. The soundstage widens and there seems to be more time and space to hear the music without losing any of the energy as if a thin layer of hash has been removed. So if the rest of your system is revealing enough, it's one of incremental improvements that helps push the 401 into the TT Major League. I have no intention to change the 401, so it was a worthwhile investment, particularly at the significant saving buying a used Mk1.
So although I would have preferred to only have one PSU, i have ended up using the LDA for the 401 and the 1500 for other source components........