GARRARD 401 - Restoration thread!!

[Jimbo]

The Garrard 401 (39432) Restoration Pt XV - Coming in song

I finally managed to find time to properly install the Panzerholz cartridge body for my hot rodded Shure M55E, and here she is.



The Panzerholz body has really transformed this M55E and I have to say that the new body is as equally important as the JICO SAS/B stylus in making this vintage cartridge a giant killer. I've not switeched on my Garrard 301 now for five weeks and it has a cartridge costing many times that of the M55E even taking into account the cost of the modifications. This cartridge now surpasses the performance of a Ortofon 2M black cartridge and without all the messing around associated with set up of these cartridges. Musical seperation bewteen instruments is staggering. Detail is staggering. I'm extremely happy with this cartridge and the argument for a JICO SAS/R is now more than justified. I'm hoping to buy one at some this year and this should push performance even further. Installing the new body has not been without problems. I did have to increase the diameter of the screw hole shafts in the body by several mm's to accomodate my mounting screws but that was no big deal. So, the M55E is now sitting parallel with the record surface, loaded with 500pF of capacitance, tracks at 1.25g with 1.1g of bias applied. I would say that I've put about 10-15 hours on the cart now so not quite broken in but each hour is a true joy!

Stay tuned.....

Just got to find £500 down the back of the sofa for the JICO SAS/R N44-7! Still a new 2M Black stylus is about £370 so only £130 more for the SAS/R. Might take a punt.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Jim, I'm running the SAS/B the N44-7 SAS/R is one of the very few Ruby based cantilever products that you can purchase from JICO let alone from anyone else. It's $500 but this converts to £395, not including import taxes etc, so maybe £500. I've started research into buying and running my ultimate vintage reference MM, let's say Ruby cantilevers will be part of the brew!

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 401 (39432) Restoration Pt XV - Back to the Future

Perhaps the most unpopular of the three Idler threads I update on a regular bases, but still fun to carry on messing around with the 401. Some of you may remember my "thing" for 1970's vintage MM carts. My long term fave has been a hot-rodded Shure M55E with lots of bling bolted on! I developed a very strong urge to try something else on the SME V-12 arm and after some careful consideration and a load of research I decided to hunt down the ADC ZLM, Stanton 881-S, or Grace F9 cartridges. I decided very quickly against another Shure cartridge, I have several and need a change from the Shure "house" sound. I made a decision to rule out the Technics EPC carts due to suspension worries. I short listed either a Grace or Stanton. The ADC ZLM seems to pop up every so often but a Stanton 881-S came up for sale in the UK at the right price, so who was I to say no?

The Grace F9 is something I can always try out and Soundsmith provide Ruby bases cantilevers, just like the originals. The Stanton just seemed to be the right choice, check out this table.



The Stanton 881-s has a history of being used in lots of mastering studios. It has >35db channel seperation and is specially checked due to it being in the upper ranks of the Stanton stables. I'm not that bothered about the 75u stereohydron stylii, I'll be getting this replaced with the FGS II which I think (if memory serves) is nearer to 100u, this will be mounted on a Ruby cantilever. I have also checked compatability with the SME V-12 and it looks like to be a very good match. The Stanton I purchased will be going on holiday to the US of A for a little "work" (no not plastic surgery). I have no idea what to expect, no idea how long it will take, in the mean time I have a Garrard 301 to keep my entertained.

Stay tuned....

[Wakefield Turntables]

The Garrard 401 (39432) Restoration Pt XVI - Stanton and deliver


My quest for the best MM cart for MY system continues and I have bolted the top of the range vintage Stanton 881-S carts to the SME V-12.






It's a bit Heath/Robinson but the thing has been bolted (Do you like my bolts?) to the SME V-12, I've had to mess around with VTA and add a few platter mats to get the things working so it looks like I'm going to have to fabricate a new base mount for the SME V-12 to lower the arm sufficiently to be able to correctly set VTA. I have paid very careful attention to cartridge/tonearm matching. The KORF blog compliance calculator is an excellent tool and I heartily recommend it. So, my acceleration at the headshell is 0.02g and the excursion at the headshell has given me a very small overshoot at under 5hz overall a very good match. The Shure M55E gave similar results but not quite as good as the Stanton. The stupid looking mounting screws were purely intentional as they happened to be the heaviest I own and as such helped lower the acceleration at the headshell more mass would have helped further.

The Stanton arrived last week a complete gamble, untested and I have no idea how many hours are on the stylus. All I can say is that this is a keeper and betters the M55E. I'm not going to write a review simply because the stylus status is an unknown variable. What I can say is that it produces thunderous bass, channel seperation is better than the old M55E, width and more importantly depth have markedly widened and deepened. This maybe down to the extra 13db of channel seperation. Output voltage is lower than the M55E but that does not seem to have much impact with this cart. I've loaded the Stanton with approx 200-250pf capacitance. I think the recommended is 275pf. I'm assuming the EAR 834 clone has about 100pf of Miller capaciatance and my cabling is another 100-125pf. I'm happy to have a little play around. VTF and VTA need some tweeking. I've set tracking force and bias at 1.1g. This thing is highly enjoyable and I recommend anyone with a thing for vintage MM's to try on out. It's the best MM I have heard and trumps my previous two faves, my hot rodded Shure M55E and the Ortofon 2MB. The Stanton will shortly be going on holiday to the US of A for some "work".



This thing should sound stellar when I get it back. I'll then start my adventures with a Grace F9/Soundsmith combo, comparing the pair should be very much fun and probably take me into Xmas. As ever boys and girls stay tuned.

[Jimbo]

Wow that looks a piece of kit Andy, spectacular old school appearance but almost verging on hand made Japanese build!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Yep! Can't disagree with what your saying. I'm REALLY beginning to question just how far we've come with cart design. MM designs especially seem to have reached a pinnacle back in the 70's. MC designs seem to keep pushing boundries. I'm very happy with this on my deck.

[The Black Adder]

A friend of mine runs the 680hp I think. Sounds great in his system. Not sure what the difference is between his and yours but I can agree, they're still excellent carts even at today's standards

He has it on a 301, can't remember what arm though.

I'm looking into a classic MM for my deck at some point.

I remember the Goldring G820 which Marco recommend to me. That kicked ass.

Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K

[Wakefield Turntables]

A friend of mine runs the 680hp I think. Sounds great in his system. Not sure what the difference is between his and yours but I can agree, they're still excellent carts even at today's standards

He has it on a 301, can't remember what arm though.

I'm looking into a classic MM for my deck at some point.

I remember the Goldring G820 which Marco recommend to me. That kicked ass.

Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K

I'm not sure why but I seemed to have bypassed Goldring. It's not a snob thing, just not got around to trying one out yet. I very quickie excluded any of the Technics MM, especially the EPC range due to suspension problems. I've been informed that Stanton suspension are pretty bullet proof and to some extent is why I choose this. I would also like to try the ADC ZLM cart, forget the Starion which is of a very similar spec to the ZLM. The Grace F9 is next on the hit list, probably will start that adventure as a birthday pressie to myself. Need to send the 881-S away first for its holiday.

[The Black Adder]

Goldring do get over looked due to the hype of other carts. But they made some cracking carts. The g800 used Alinco magnets and were made to last. The only bother is the original stylus, for best results you need to have them retipped... NWA did mine. It was an excellent cart.

Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K

[Wakefield Turntables]

Yes NWA! Differing results from differing people. Mines off to USA! Well known dude with a very very good reputation. I might do some research into goldring over the weekend