Garrard 301-Worth the effort?

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.)

In contradistinction to Jeremy's observation, I went from a Jean Nantais wood plinth using a stock Lenco chassis to a Lenco in slate cum PTP top plate, and I think the latter is somewhat superior sounding in every way. It is more neutral to my ears. One can always add flavoring via one's choice of tonearm, cartridge, phono stage. I prefer my tt to be as neutral as possible.

The AF products look beautiful, no doubt about it. Beauty is what they are selling and rightfully so. However, I really do not think that they have a bunch of physicists working for them who scientifically calculated the design of the plinth so as to maximize the performance of the Garrard or Lenco. I think it is much more likely that they are following after information that was/is made available to them mostly via the internet, that provides guidelines for how to construct a decent plinth. (See Lenco Heaven, for example.) Of course, that same information is available to any and all of us, as well. Much of it came from Jean Nantais and others and was freely given on the various chat sites. My point is that if one is strapped for cash but skilled in wood and metalworking (and/or knows a good water-jet guy), terrific plinths can be made for a fraction of the cost of an AF plinth, plinths that equal in performance what can be bought for high cost from companies that make plinths (not to single out AF; I too love their work). Such plinths usually will not look as good, however.

Dear Jeremy, If you will take the time to re-read my post that seems to have offended you, you will see that I am not guilty of having said some of the things you impute to me. As for the rest, I apologize to anyone who was offended. I am not one of those guys who hates expensive products just because they are expensive. I am sure that AF does a lot of R&D to create their products. But note that others who also do extensive R&D come up with different builds and materials as optimum. Hence, there must be more than one path to plinth Nirvana. I was additionally trying to say that if one cannot afford an expensive plinth, one can still get to enjoy a Lenco turntable in a plinth of one's own making. Actually I am kind of in awe of AF, because I realize that they are up against a lot of resistance from die-hards like me, and yet they carry on. I admire that.

Rahman, Thanks for the info. I nevertheless did not mean to "diss" the AF plinths; that would be grossly unfair since I have never heard an AF Lenco or Garrard. I only meant to point out that their physical beauty is built into their cost.

Ah yes, the NVS. I wonder what's up with that product. Definitely the Honda Superbike to the cherry hot-rodded Harley that is an AF Garrard/Lenco. I have the same predilections as you. The price differential is huge.

Have you checked out the Q-ing device? It may be bent. If the Q is preventing the LP from sitting down on the outermost groove, it can usually be re-adjusted (or in this case, straightened, if bent). Most have a set screw of some kind that permits height adjustment, altho I have zero knowledge of your specific TT/tonearm.