Garrard 301 restoration project

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT LXXII - A taste of things to come.


Ah back to my old Sunday night routine of a little whiskey, a little Jazz and a 301 update :lol:. I've been wanting to get my 3009 properly setup for ages and after a little time I decided to get cracking. I've already detailed what's going to be done to the 301 but I thought I'd take a few pictures, so here goes.

https://i.ibb.co/7QJXDp5/IMG-1536.jpg

This picture shows the preferred silver litz rewire product. You can also see my custom made (by myself) IPE tonearm base. I found some silver litz cartridge wires and my new pride and joy a Grace F9E and a brace of head shells.


https://i.ibb.co/N22ty2Z/IMG-1537.jpg


This picture shows the 3009 with the Grace F9E mounted and the preferred head shell, the Orsonic, widely regarded as one of the best you can buy. Cartridge wires are fine silver to match the silver litz rewiring. Watch you can't see if the WBT RCA modification I also made for the 3009 :eyebrows:.

https://i.ibb.co/kcK9wd2/IMG-1573.jpg


The latest "stable" of carts. SPU's, DECCA's and MM's. The M55e sits in a magnesium and Panzerholz wooden body, I've never tried this combo before, I do have a JICO SAS/B stylus to play around with over Xmas, I also have MONO stylus (currently mounted in the M55e). So lots of
fun to be had over Xmas.

https://i.ibb.co/hX7M576/IMG-1574.jpg

Finally, two sets of weights, the original SME and a custom pair made by Steve of Magna audio. Having both sets should enable easy configuration bewteen vintage MM's and heavy SPU's.

Now, looking to the future, I'll probably bond the IPE tonearm mount to the bamboo plinth but that's a job for another day. Presently the tonearm board will be kept in place with four threaded rods with nuts and washer, not ideal but OK and sonically more than adequate. The future of the 301 will then be evaluated over the Xmas period. I may go down the route of a new Idler wheel in the new year, and then maybe I won't! I'll probably make a Ipe or Panzerholz plinth for the 301 but that's maybe the big project of 2025.

As ever stay tuned...

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT LXXIII - Three's not a crowd.


No pictures tonight, just some thoughts. I've not recieved my 3009 back yet but my thoughts have already started to think about upgrades and possiblt a third tonearm for the 3001. I'm thinking maybe a dedicated valve mono phonostage and possibly a SUT for the MONO cartridges. I'd possibly go for a MONO 12" Bockrand tonearm but this is a big NO-NO for me due to the problems and amount of time it seems to purchase and deliver one of these tonearms. I also started to look at dedicated MONO phonostages and have probably opened a real can of worms. I don't know if I'm ever going to upgrade from Ortofon MONO as I think this seems to be the sweetspot for me, so potentially I might try another 3012 or even go for another tonearm altogether, maybe a different brand! I know that Ortofon produce a MONO SUT for the current MONO SPU's, so this might be worth a try as well. I will have to make a mountable outrigger for my latest plinth design, again, a bit of fun should I decide to go down the three arm route. Going down the three arm route means my 3009 could just be used for vintage MM's and this would also stop me having to faff around changing headshells. Expensive but you only live once! Another option is to forsake the option of a specific MONO only phonostage and just simply use the second input into my EAR 834 clone and a "Y" spliiter to create MONO. I have a MONO switch installed on the EAR834 so this could be a cheaper alternative. Decisions, decisions!

I'm thinking that there is probably (for the time being) not really a great deal left that I can do to this 301. A new idler wheel for the far east is a possibility. A new plinth design which will incorperate the decoupled motor design and maybe three tonearms. Each tonearm does something different, one for SPU'S, one for MONO duties and one for vintage MM experimentation. Plinth material is always a comical debate, I have considered by some Cherry wood and maybe trying something like a Shindo build but then you would also need the modded platter, bearing, tonearm and SPU for it to sound anything like a Shindo :doh:. IPE is probably going to be the way ahead should I undertake such a task. Working with IPE or Panzerholz isn't difficult but you do need specific tools which can handle the hardness of these materials, so you have to factor in the expense associated with this task. Such a task may results in a plinth which could be enstage with respects to material selection.

Stay tuned!

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT LXXIV - Sensible Head!

It's Friday night and there's a little Jazz being played and a little whiskey (McCallum 12 year old) being sipped, time for a little reflection and an update on the 301. I've decided against a third arm on the 301 for vintage MM carts, instead I've pressed my Garrard 401/SME V-12 combo into action instead, I've been using my Grace F9E on the SME V-12 and it sounds excellent, so I guess that saves funds and more messing around with the 301. I've made one major change to the setup of the 301 and that's with the tonearm mounts, previously I'd been bolting these to the bamboo plinth and things sounds ok, things no sound better as I've glued both the 3009 and 3012 mounts into place and things seem (to these ears) sound a little better. So, here's the proof.....

https://i.ibb.co/vdL515Q/IMG-1586.jpg

MONO also sounds very good, I have shelved the idea of using IPE tonearm mounts on the bamboo plinth, the Panzerholz mounts work really well. Now I think it's time to stop messing around for the time being and just and the fruits of my labours, but this may be easier said than done :doh:. I;ve heard that Stack Audio have just produced a new record puck and platter mat, now the isolation footers worked TOO WELL in my system and I ended up sending them back as they made things too analytical and just like my Technics 1210 setup (what's the point in having two systems which sound very very similar) ? Well, that's about all I have to say this time around, so as ever stay tuned.........

https://ibb.co/KsVZ6ZL

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT LXXV - MONOLOG - A sub blog! Pt VIII - MONO CARTS


It's been a while since I did anything on this Blog, so, here is a we update on the 301. Tonight's post was inspired by the cold winters nights and maybe too much time on my hands. I have been going through a process of equipment evaluation and thinning out the collection, partly to move on new gear, partly to make space, and partly to fund 2025's audio campaign. The Shure M55E which is part of my "not for sale" collection is a very versatile performer, it's by no means the best and easily bettered but in my system sounds just great. I decided to see how the M55 stacked up against my Ortofon MONO SPU. I purchased the MONO stylus for the M55 years ago as part of my very first leaps into the MONO world. It sounded OK but it was on a different deck and the M55 was still bodied in it's original plastic case. The M55 has been modded with a lovely Panzerholz body and lives on the Arsonic head shell (very sexy). The 3009 was placed into action and what can I say. Well, a very big disappointment. It took 10 minutes to realise why I was using the Ortofon MONO SPU as my reference (yes I know better carts exist). Despite really wanting the M55 to sound great, it just didn't.

https://i.ibb.co/ZNq4Z4K/IMG-1631.jpg

This hobby is full of experiments and this is what makes things fun because occasionally you'll hit audio paydirt but alas not this time. As ever stay tuned.....

I'm not really surprised. The SPU mono is a moving coil cartridge with a single coil orientated to only respond to transverse groove modulation. The Shure M55E is a mid quality fixed coil cartridge. You have fitted it with a stylus with, I assume, a pivot suspension that has a very low compliance for motion in the vertical plane.

On top of that the moving coil cartridge has a far lower output than that of the fixed coil cartridge, as well as having a different housing and mounting in the arm.

Given all that, I would expect the SPU to sound superior.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Barry

I'm not really surprised. The SPU mono is a moving coil cartridge with a single coil orientated to only respond to transverse groove modulation. The Shure M55E is a mid quality fixed coil cartridge. You have fitted it with a stylus with, I assume, a pivot suspension that has a very low compliance for motion in the vertical plane.

On top of that the moving coil cartridge has a far lower output than that of the fixed coil cartridge, as well as having a different housing and mounting in the arm.

Given all that, I would expect the SPU to sound superior.

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Thing is Barry, you've got to have a bit of fun trying this stuff even if it's just to convince yourself your not missing out on something good.

Oh I understand - I used to be an inveterate 'fiddler', especially with vinyl playback. I still have at least 30 cartridges, 10
tonearms and four turntables.

But since the advent of CD, my interest in vinyl playback has diminished so that I'm happy with my current setup, which is either an EMT TSD FSL cartridge in an EMT arm, or an Ortofon MC200 in an SME 3009 (imp) arm, or a Van Den Hul MC10 in a Breuer Dynamic Type 5A arm. The last two combinations are mounted on Thorens TD124/II turntables.
Occasionally I use an Ikeda C3 cantileverless MC cartridge in an Ikeda-modified Ortofon 12" arm, or an Ortofon SPUGE in an SME M2-12R arm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Barry

Oh I understand - I used to be an inveterate 'fiddler', especially with vinyl playback. I still have at least 30 cartridges, 10
tonearms and four turntables.

But since the advent of CD, my interest in vinyl playback has diminished so that I'm happy with my current setup, which is either an EMT TSD FSL cartridge in an EMT arm, or an Ortofon MC200 in an SME 3009 (imp) arm, or a Van Den Hul MC10 in a Breuer Dynamic Type 5A arm. The last two combinations are mounted on Thorens TD124/II turntables.
Occasionally I use an Ikeda C3 cantileverless MC cartridge in an Ikeda-modified Ortofon 12" arm, or an Ortofon SPUGE in an SME M2-12R arm.

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That's some nice equipment you listed!

Thanks Andrew, that's kind of you to say, but I have been interested in Hi fi since 1969, so have had plenty of time to aquire some decent kit.

Incidently, much of it was bought second hand, as I wouldn't have been able to afford to buy some of the items new.

The Garrard 301 Restoration Project PT LXXVI - MONOLOG - A sub blog! Pt IX - MONO Optimisation

It's been a while since I posted on here. Not much has really changed with the MONO setup. I thought I would just talk a little about some of the things which I'm experimenting with or would like to try in the MONO setup. I've been experimenting with platter mat's and in this instance the optimal thickness to get the best out of the cartridge alignment. I still need to do some tweaking but I think I'm within 0.5 to 1.0mm optimal platter mat thickness. I'm looking into trying a MONO SUT for the Ortofon MONO SPU that I currently run, this should be interesting and something that I'd really like to try. The only downside to a MONO SUT is yet another pair of IC leads in the chain. Oh, well, I suppose nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I'll be posting some thoughts on the experiment if it occurs. Ok, that's it for now stay tuned.... :thumbsup: