I am tempted to say sell the Garrard 301 and find a Lenco L75, because IMO the latter is potentially just as good sounding and represents a miniscule investment compared to the value of a Garrard. But I won't say that. My advice would be to keep the tt you now have or buy a low end Nottingham. (I agree with Sibelius, they are very good sounding tt's.) Meantime, learn about how to restore a Garrard and go about the work at your leisure. If you sell your useable tt and find yourself in the position of having to restore the Garrard in order to be able to listen to music from your LP collection, you will grow to dislike the project immensely and to resent the time you have to spend. Trust me; this happens. (Not only with a Garrard restoration but with potentially any vintage gear that needs TLC.)
Garrard 301-Worth the effort?
A friend very generously gave me his Grandfather's Garrard 301 to restore or sell. It's not in bad shape, but won't play yet as it looks like it needs a new idler wheel and spindle (so far). I'm not crazy about the tonearm (Garrard with unknown Shure Cartridge) or plinth (plywood box). My dilemma is whether it's worth the effort and money to fix or would I be better off selling it and putting the money towards something new, possibly a VPI classic with a better tonearm? I currently use a Harman Kardon T-65C with a Grado Statement Sonata II and am very happy. But maybe I don't know any better. I've read great things about the 301, but I'm more into the music than collecting antique pieces.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Any opinions would be appreciated.