I’m obviously a big fan of idler drives, as I have a Thorens TD-124 in addition to my 401. I’ll give you a brief synopsis of my journey with the 401:
- Purchased it on ebay from a UK seller; had it shipped directly to Woodsong Audio (Chris Harban) in Idaho. It was not in as good a shape as described on ebay, so Chris did one of his full restorations. All the steps involved are listed on his website under “Garrard 301 Restoration”.
- I decided to have Chris repaint the chassis in piano black; this was because the stock gunmetal color would not have looked very good with the blue I had picked for the plinth. Why blue? To match the Italian tube integrated and phono pre I was pairing it with. Some traditionalists may have a problem with that, but it turned out stunning, and is now one of the turntables featured on the Woodsong website. (pretty cool!)
- Chris installed an IEC outlet on my 401, but I don’t know what brand. A couple years ago I replaced a stock pc with a straightwire gray lightning. Nothing particularly expensive, and I can’t tell you it made a difference, but my own experience is that PCs are more important on the amp and phono pre than on the TT. Also keep in mind that I’m using the original motor, so ground is floated on the IEC outlet anyway.
- Regarding the stock motor: I’ve had the 401 for 6 years now, without any servicing. Since my deck was a UK version, the strobe light wouldn’t have worked correctly on the platter markings, which assume a 50 hz signal. So Chris didn’t bother to get that working. Well a month or so ago I installed an LED strobe light conversion kit on the turntable and guess what? Speed is still spot on 6 years later. The speed adjustment dial is still set at noon. Pretty remarkable. Great engineering by Garrard and great restoration by Woodsong. So I’m not sure I’d recommend an external speed controller.
- Regarding the tonearm and cartridge: I went with the 12” Reed 3P (Cocobolo); got an amazing deal cuz Chris had a demo he needed to move. I originally paired it with a cheap Hana EH knowing I’d upgrade eventually. Landed on Koetsu Urushi Tsugaru, well, for three reasons: (1) It’s gorgeous; (2) Koetsu was always a destination cartridge for me because, well it’s a Koetsu! (3) Sugano San originally voiced his cartridges on a modified 401, so it was meant to be.
That’s pretty much my story. I have one last step in the journey. Am about to upgrade my step up transformer to something more befitting a Koetsu. Am very satisfied with the setup.
Hope that helps, and am happy to answer any questions you might have.