Platter Upgrade for Garrard 301

The 301 has a fine platter and bearing, provided it is in top condition. If it is not, then the bearing needs to be replaced. The platter was well designed for the table, and would be the last thing I would recommend looking at, placing attention on a proper plinth (the 301 was not sold with a plinth anyway) and a power supply and motor controller (OMA will have an exclusive Garrard Loricraft model out shortly, which addresses issues beyond the scope of this thread.)

At a certain point, with this kind of topic, you invariably encounter the "Baby and the Bath Water Syndrome." Meaning, at what point do you stop replacing the components of your turntable with upmarket replacements, at which point you no longer have a Garrard 301 at all, as everything has been replaced but the badge. I can see why you would want to do that with a Lenco, for example (OMA makes a plinth system with Peter Reinder's steel plate for the Lenco, which gets rid of most of the turntable you started with) but the 301 is a great sounding classic which just needs servicing, and a great plinth to sound wonderfully. A power supply adds further refinement, but if you find yourself curious about the sound of a different platter after you get your 301 up and running, why not ask Steve Dobbins if he can let you try one of his new platters? He's a great guy and I'm sure he would oblige.

Jonathan Weiss
Oswaldsmillaudio.com

Ok. Thank you very much.

How does one contact Steve Dobbins???

Thanks,

Chris

see my first post above....or vetterone@msn.com.

Dear Jonathan, The Lenco is a "great sounding classic" too. There are those (not me, necessarily, because I haven't done the experiment) who would argue that there is not much difference between a well tuned Garrard 301 and a Lenco L75 in stock form (except you have to throw out the Lenco tonearm and use the same tonearm and cartridge on both tables). But you raise an interesting semantic issue as regards when do you stop calling your turntable a Garrard OR a Lenco, if either have been subjected to extensive parts replacements. It's not something I would lose sleep over, as long as the upgrades actually do improve performance.

Mcmprov, In addition to the Steve Dobbins and Shindo products, there is or was also a machinist in Australia who makes (or made) replacement (solid aluminum) platters and bearing assemblies for the 301. I've seen photos and the workmanship looks excellent. Total cost was under $2000. He sent me an e-mail last year but seems to have disappeared thereafter, and I've seen no mention of his product since then on any threads. I can probably dig up his old e-mail, if you're interested in following up.