Garrard 301 - Project

@larryi 

I agree. There is a good reason why Garrard 301 / 401 and Thorens 124 still holds its place among vinyl enthusiasts. With the right restoration and modern touches, these vintage workhorses don’t just hold their own—they sing. I could have a very nice turntable for the money + love poured into tweaking my Garrard 301 BUT there is something about these idler tables beyond the vintage appearance. They have an innate energy and drive that many belt drives struggle to replicate, and when combined with precise modern tracking and isolation, the result can be breathtakingly musical.

I am absolutely enjoying the Garrard 301’s tactile, propulsive quality not to mention its uncanny ability to convey notes with sheer liveliness and soul. 

PS: Thanks for sharing your recommendation on Wheaton Triplanar arm. I am still pondering on my choices for 2nd tonearm :-) 

I never challenge being excitable, I am a worst case of allowing the condition to take hold.

It is probably that and some interesting proposals that has been instrumental in friends much more adept that myself, taking on some of the challenges I have planted as seeds.

I can't predict what is to come, I'm usually lost the sure footed ground and am all  over the place with anticipation of what is the next experience and learning to be put in front of me.    

Moving on, I would like to hear from some of the Garrard 301/401 owners on record weight / clamp they found to be complementary. Since I am going with Artisan Fidelity’s hybrid platter + Saphire bearing, their very own Aluminum Record Clamp will be part of my listening test. The other one I’m considering is Combak TU‑812MX. Ideally, the clamp or record weight must be less than 16oz or 450 grams. 

I would like to have all the recommended clamps on hand once the upgraded platter and sapphire bearing are installed, so I can properly assess which one has the best synergy with the system. I plan to keep the one that suits my listening preferences most consistently.

A very recent Post from a Gon Member is attached,

FYI - I use a Weight that is self made as a Composite material, that has a weight exceeding 1Kg. 

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Here is some new information for all of us to chew on.  I recently acquired Analog Magic software which is used for turntable set up.  I am just learning how to use it and am probably dangerous.  Just for the heck of it I wanted to see if adding weight affected distortion.  I added weight at the center and at the perimeter on my VPI and the short answer is yes adding weight increases distortion (a wee bit).  On my Technics I compared adding weight to using a KAB clamp and the answer is yes adding weight adds distortion, but the clamp did not.  So there you go.  If your record is warped, add the weight as the lesser of evils, but otherwise you are better off with naked records.  Remember you heard it here first and you only get this sort of useless trivia here on the Audiogon Forum.

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@lalitk Best of success on your upward journey. While I've not tried either of the clamps you mention, I do have an inexpensive device. I've never been a fan of damping the record, and I find the clamp removes some of the life from the music.