Garrard 301 - Project

@lewm

I hear you..sourcing a good plinth wouldn’t be easy as the two outlets I know of wouldn’t sell plinth by itself. I may have to look for alternative TT while I work towards perfecting the 301.

In retrospect, I think my advice was rash, as I have no experience with Garrard or with the plinth you did acquire. I can only claim intimate knowledge with Lenco GL75. ( And for the Lenco I made the ridiculous choice of slate for the plinth.) Several others who have contributed to this thread can offer better Garrard advice than I. One point that may be cogent: I believe you’re not using an outboard PS at present. Even if speed is constant under load, a good outboard PS can reduce noise by permitting the TT to maintain speed at lower voltage. Beyond that, the Phoenix Engineering gear offers a feedback mechanism that also helps, albeit the PE stuff may not be compatible with your induction type motor. It works superbly with the Lenco motor, I can attest.

301 restoration

I’ve attached a link to the standard steps Woodsong Audio follows for their restorations.  That and their plinth is what I have for my 401.  I also have the 401 on a wall-mounted cabinet.  No feedback or noise - but also no subwoofer…

@mdalton 

From what I can see, Audio Grail rebuilt is on par with Woodsong. I think the biggest differentiator between your 401 is high quality plinth + feet and then wall mounting + no subs. The way I see my options moving forward; order another 301 rebuilt or continue to tweak 301 on hand. 

@noromance @jperry @mdalton @fsonicsmith 

301 is up and running for past 6 days. It does sound pretty darn good with $15K tonearm/cart combo. Love the classic industrial appearance. I am still getting acclimated with its strengths and flaws in stock form and maybe jumping the gun here but I feel this is not a TT that sounds best in its stock form. The inherent vibration or energy from motor and plinth was out of control. I got it tamed for most part by isolating the plinth with IsoAcoustics mini pucks. I realize, a better isolation solution is probably the next step but what can or should do next to eliminate or reduce inherent vibrations. Perhaps, a aftermarket bearing, platter, idler wheel or even a better, denser plinth. 

Appreciate your input. 

It is incredibly difficult to assist in this situation. It is similar to addressing a hum problem someone is having with their electronics. Are you certain the problem is vibration from the motor? How did you determine that? Yes, the 301 motor is not the smoothest of all motors but if properly rebuilt it should not be causing a problem with SQ. As I have written before a specially designed PSU like the LDA (Long Dog Audio) will help. 

My best advice right now is similar to that given when there is a hum problem-start by eliminating things from your system. First and foremost should be your subs. IMHO, subwoofers and turntables simply don't play well together absent Herculean solutions such as placing the turntable in a separate room. 

My best guess-from afar-is that what you perceive to be motor induced vibration is actually some other form of distortion. Though your plinth is not the one I would have selected, it is very unlikely to be the problem. You don't need a fancy plinth for a 301 to sound great. I would instead focus on these things in this order;

1) Subs-remove and then if problem goes away, reposition or turn off when playing vinyl. 

2) Check the mounting and alignment of the Reed 3P-a pro ought to be considered. 

3) Check the cartridge alignment-again a pro like Brian Walsh ought to be considered. 

4) Have the motor serviced by a pro-I recommend Greg Metz of STS out of Nashville. 

5) Try a PSU. 

6) Relocate your turntable and investigate a different turntable rack-I happen to prefer Symposium.

7) Experiment with different footers-I have had far better results with Stillpoints over IsoAcoustics for the plinth. 

8) Only last do I recommend a new idler wheel unless you have some reason to believe that your existing idler is out of round.