Garrard 301 bearing upgrades??

[Bigbird]

Hi all, im going to be putting together a 301 for my next project . Its going to be a bells and whistles jobby, complete refurb with all the best bits i can find to compliment my Reed tonearm.

Theres lots of stuff out there about the benefits of changing some of the stock parts like the idler, eddy brake , oversized platters etc for modern equivalents that make it run smoother and quieter, but im wondering if anybody has any recommendations or knowledge on bearing upgrades?? Which are the best ones and who makes them as i can only find the SMD bearing on Peak hifi which at 600 notes seems expensive for a machined case and spindle and a couple of bushes?? All the others i can find info on are no longer being made

Thanks

Karl


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wakefield Turntables]

Karl, I'm at work right now. I've tried 4 garrard bearings. I will write some comments tonight.

[Bigbird]

Karl, I'm at work right now. I've tried 4 garrard bearings. I will write some comments tonight.

Thanks buddy, look forward to it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Beobloke]

I’m not sure if he’s still doing them, but by far the best bearing upgrade I’ve come across is the Martin Bastin option. He rescued mine after I was foolish enough to upgrade my perfectly good bearing with the original Analog Tube Audio Kokomo bearing which all but drilled a hole in the thrust plate.

I understand they’ve fixed this issue now but I wouldn’t try it again, personally.

Not tried the SMD one.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Vrajbasi]

I’m not sure if he’s still doing them, but by far the best bearing upgrade I’ve come across is the Martin Bastin option. He rescued mine after I was foolish enough to upgrade my perfectly good bearing with the original Analog Tube Audio Kokomo bearing which all but drilled a hole in the thrust plate.

I understand they’ve fixed this issue now but I wouldn’t try it again, personally.

Not tried the SMD one.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I totally agree I have had lots of bearing upgrades, I dont want to name names of the ones I never got on with but the Bastin upgrade was one of the best just so musical Bastin offered true value and made perfect sense. The only other one is the crazy priced Shindo Bearing and Platter now this is a serious upgrade that really works.

To my ears you could do alot worse than a well sorted out original apart from above mentioned.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Right a few words. I have tried the Garrard 301, Garrard 401, Bastin Modified 301, and SPH bearing. I'm currently awaiting a Bastin modified 401. To my ears the SPH bearing was the best but it had problems with a scraping noise which I sorted out. The 301 and 401 bearings are excellent and should really be the only bearing that you should ever need. I've spoken to Terry at Loricraft, Matt at Audiograil and Martin Bastin and all say that Garrard bearings are excellent. I think the stock 401 bearing sounds better than stock 301 bearing, but the Bastin modded 301 bearing sounded better than the standard 301 bearing but not as good as the stock 401 bearing. I'm hoping the Bastin modded 401 bearing sounds better than stock 401 bearing. I currently run a stock 401 bearing in my Garrard 301. I'm currently waiting a fully serviced and modded Bastin Garrard 401 turntable so that should give me something else to experiment with!!! I've not heard any other bearings, Artisan Fidelity, Shindo, Peak Hifi and Classic Turntable all produce their own but I have not heard any of these. For what it's worth I would simply send your bearing to Martin Bastin and let him mod and service it. You can spend a lot of money on something that might not actually produce anything of any benefit. The Kokomo bearing upgrades are a no-no, I've seen a few bearings knackered, Audiosilente produce great 301 products and excellent thrust plates, you might want to do some research. So, to conclude I think a well serviced, Bastin modded bearing is probably as good as you'll get unless you want a massive platter. I have no knowledge or experience with oversized platters so you might need to do your own research with respects to bearings designed for this purpose. I hope these ramblings help a little.!!!

[Clive]

It's a shame the NWA bearing is no longer available. I found this to be excellent.

[DiveDeepDog]

Wot Andrew said, I've got a few DIY thrust pads, solid phosphor bronze being most successful.
The SPH was a good upgrade on original Hamertone 301 (funny how the grease bearings fetch a premium) but needed some coaxing to fit, and a little more work on fit n finish. Less than £200 its decent VFM.

I would expect the Peak bearing to be very good with a hardened spindle that will last as long as the original, but no experience.

A point I've not seen elsewhere is the platters. The non strobe is heavier than the strobed 301, which is heaver than the 401. Same casting (?)but they underwent more machining.

[Vrajbasi]

The main plus point from what I know about the grease bearing Garrard 301 is certainly not the bearing but the thigh torque motor which provides a great sence of drive. I have heard a hammertone 301with a oil bearing sounding just sublime it was by far the most musical 301 I have ever heard. If I were to go for it the greese bearing 301 with a shindo bearing and platter would be as far as one would need to go to obtain the Holy grail of 301's.

[Bigbird]

Thanks guys a few of the names mentioned have popped up but not martin bastin so i will maybe contact him for a chat. Can he build complete bearings or just mod the originals??

The woodsong audio bearing by chris harban has a torlon bearing and he claims its the best garrard bearing available , but he will only fit them himself for some reason so its not available to be sent out to me. Doesnt make good business sense to me but its his choice.

I like the idea of the CTC chassis as its reinforced around the bearing mount stop the slight flex that is in the original chassis. And the reviews of audiosilente idler wheels are very good. So it may be a bit of a mish mash of parts that i cobble together.

I havent seen any shindo parts but have heard his TTs are the best of the best alongside Artisan fidelity. But if the price is anything like AF ($3500+) for platter and bearing then its out of the question.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk