Platter Upgrade for Garrard 301

But the issue between us was the opposition between Rockport and Garrard 301

Hummmmmm.

Nandric; i don't really see any issue between us. we are simply having fun enjoying communicating about wonderful tt's that make great music. for my part; i am lacking in both technical knowledge and the desire to aquire much technical knowledge. i am simply an observer of cause and effect.

i listen to the Rockport which has many interacting pieces and parts; one of which is the platter. however it does it; i hear more musical message communicated thru the Rockport than any other tt i have been exposed to. is that because of the 55 pound platter? i really do not care. one cannot substitute platters on the Rockport so we will never know cause and effect of that platter with any certainty. i suppose we can guess about it.

OTOH on the Garrard you can substitute a platter and therefore judge one against the other. which i plan on doing. is this a thing worth doing? for me yes; i am interested in seeing just how good the Garrard can be. to me it is an enjoyable and satisfying endevour to mess with the Garrard. i love the way it plays music. the damn thing is beautiful.

it does not need to compete directly with the Rockport; that issue is not significant to me. at some point in the future when i am at a point where i think the Garrard is optimized i will sit back and decide whether the Garrard is a 'very' long term keeper or not. but until then i'm going down this path.

understand; at the University i dropped out of my Classic Mythology class because the subject did not hold my attention sufficiently. i am but a simple man enjoying music and life.

best regards,

In other words, Nandric, messing about with platters is good, clean fun. Plus, having two turntables that both sound great but are qualitatively different from each other, is also fun.

do your self a favor and buy a platter and bearing upgrade. At very least do something about the thrust plate. I have a 301 with a newly machined platter and completely new bearing assembly. Total cost was $1500, not cheap but cheaper than some of the options floated here. No contest to the old set up too. The old platter and bearing do have a magic to them, and honestly I missed that at first. But what the original set up can't do is present an lp the way an upgraded bearing can. The bass is way more intricate and defined or tuneful. The old bass was great but a lot more towards the single note variety and not nearly as articulate. Plus the highs have been totally cleaned up, arguably the Achilles heel of the garrard. You can spend the $3000 on a overpriced piece of slate from Oswalds Mill and of course their newly designed super power supply that will surely cost you a few grand too. And remember do all this BEFORE you upgrade the platter and bearing, unless of course they start selling platters and bearings then I think the advice might just include the new platter and bearing as well! good luck.

Kozzmo, so whose platter and bearing are you using, or is it a secret?

the aussie's, it's well made quite a bit larger and the bearing itself is extremely hefty and machined to tight tolerances. Makes a big difference. there are pictures of it over at the AA site. search post for kozzmo.

David