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Help me buy a Garrard

Friends,
I was almost about to pull the trigger on a EMT 948/950 from Mr.Dusch (EMT engineer). However I have never heard them so I was taking some time. In the mean time I heard a couple of other vintage turntables and among them the Garrard 301 sounded terrific to me. The Garrard I heard was installed in decent wooden plinth (probably ply), nothing exotic though. Now that I am thinking of getting one there seems to be various options to get a Garrard TT:

1. Buy a good 301 off ebay and get a decent birch ply plinth built and ready to go!

2. Same as option 1 but also do the kokomo bearing upgrade and the Loricraft PSU upgrade.

3. Get one of the current Garrard flag bearers (Loricraft, Audio grail, OMA etc) to build you a 301 based TT with the same mods as mentioned in option 2.

4. Finally get an exotic fully built, modded 301 from Steve Dobbins or Artisan Fidelity or may be Albert Porter. I see that they change even the platter and mods to the Garrard. Here I am concerned that it may ultimately alter the overall sound more towards the modern side. I am not really after that. Some improvements to the overall noise floor and soundstaging is fine but taking it too far may ultimately get me only half the Garrard sound and other half the modder's sound.

My question is, what is the right way of doing a Garrard for a first timer and non-diyer like me considering that I want my Garrard to sound like a very good Garrard in the first place ?

If I just do good birch ply plinth and get a clean 301 to go with it, how far am I done ? Will a Dobbins plinth be a much higher grade of an upgrade ?

I currently use an Immedia RPM2 turntable which is already very good so with the Garrard I want to start at a certain acceptable level.
pani

Showing 9 responses by pani

pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Ilikmangos, thanks for an insightful post.
When you say you like the grey hammertone ones the most, is it for its special sonics or just the paint quality ?
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Hi David,
Thanks for your valuable input. Do you think I should go for a highly "done up" 301 from one of the garrard tt dealers or should I keep it simple and get a nicely refurbished 301 and do some minimal upgrades with a decent plinth and settle down ?
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Secondly, should I go for the grease bearing or oil bearing version (cost not withstanding) ?
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Last but not the least, which tonearm to go for:

1. Gray Research 208 transcription tonearm
2. SME M2-12r
3. Ortofon RS-309d
4. Moerch DP6

All these are available in my vicinity in the used market for under $1500.
I am looking for a tonearm which natural flow and dynamics of the Garrard without compromising in resolution.
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Guys, I am looking at the Audio Grail restored Garards, the only doubt I have is, after they done all the restoration will it sound like an original Garrard ? When they restore they will be changing parts, polishing some parts and other such stuff. Will they have original parts to replace ? If not then they will be using parts that are re-manufactured. Ultimately after all the work will there be any change in the signature sound ?

After all I can always find a good cond nicely running Garrard sold by one of the local audiophiles, with the same good old predictable Garrard sound. Will there be any deviation with Grail units ?
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Thanks every one for your free flowing comments.

Now the million dollar question, which version is safe buy for a first timer garrard user like me, grease bearing or oil bearing ?
I have heard couple of garrards but do not know which versions were they. My question is purely from the sonic point of view and not from the collectors view. Which version is easier to buy blind and be happy considering that I am not exactly coming from a vintage system ?

My current system is based on a pair of Tannoy turnberry SE speakers and Wavac amplification. It is revealing yet with a certain natural warmth.

Please suggest.
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Whatever I get I will buy a properly refurbished one. So maintenance is not the issue. My question purely from the sonics pov.
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Thanks Audiofun.

The difference between grease and oil bearing models is not just the bearing but also the motor. The grease motor has a higher torque motor compared to oil bearing version. That gives it the bulk of the difference.
pani OP
1,232 posts
 
Thanks Noromance for the info. But the guy will not ship. I live on Singapore so there is no way I can collect it from him directly :-(
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