Garrard 301 restore

jperry:

I owned Thorens TD121/TD124 in the late 70's and preferred my TD160's.

This was long before plinths/arm board material was a consideration.

This said, I did like the stock 301 back then, but never found one on the cheap (paid $25-$35 for the Thorens idler/belt jobs @ local house sales).

I used all the decks with SME 3009 II non-improved and 3012 arms (depending upon the base) but even though the older Thorens decks were fuller sounding in the bass/mid-bass they lacked definition there and the mids/highs lacked the reverb quality I got with the 160's.

The TD121/124 were cabinet finds in crappy bases with slide out rails on the bottoms (one was a long base though).

I recall using white glue on the corners of the bases as both were starting to separate/fall a part.

Never heard a "modernized" 121/124/301, but would like to.

DeKay

Unless the base/plinth is falling apart, your budget priority should be on getting the table serviced and selecting a good arm.  A well conditioned 301 deserves the best possible arm.  I know that really good arms are way out of your budget, so I am only trying to make the point that this table is so good there is no arm that would be inappropriate.  The Artisan Fidelity site, for example, shows this table coupled with a lot of top notch arms.  My local dealer's favorite arm with the 301,401 and 124 was the higher end Ortofon arms made by Jelco (Japan).  I don't know what arms he now favors now that Jelco is no longer in business.  He has plenty of customers with these idler table, with Ortofon arms and cartridges as high end as Koetsu Rosewood Platinum Signature and Blue Lace cartridges.  

The unit is super clean but clearly needs work that I would prefer to leave to the pros.

Please see my profile and system for confirmation that I have experience with restoration of the 301. My recommendation is to send the 301 to Greg Metz of STS/Classic Thorens just outside of Nashville for meticulous restoration. Greg is a perfectionist. His prices are just a tad on the high side but you get what you pay for.

Now this is going to perhaps offend you or some others but without knowing what you do for a living and/or what your financial responsibilities are, it is a complete shame, imho, to limit the potential of a "super clean" 301 with your budget. $4500 is a much more reasonable budget. Wait, save, re-allocate, do whatever you need to do but restore the 301 with an adequate budget for restoration, tonearm, and plinth. Please :-).

Also, someone above mentioned that there is a school of thought that super-dense plinths such as slate deaden the sound. I agree. The sound with a slate plinth and top end tonearm and cartridge will sound more precise but sterile. The liveliness is gone. But on the other hand the 301 has a somewhat noisy motor/idler drive such that a mid-weight plinth with good footers will help. So don’t expect perfection and instead accept the inherent compromises. I happen to have one of the Muldovian plinths linked above just sitting around collecting dust. PM me and if you want it, you can have it at a price that will be bound to make you happy. But-I warn you in advance-while it looks very nice and seems to be built well-it is still rather cheaply made.

And last, while there are tons of great tonearm choices out there and no single best-for-the-money choice, you might add these to your consideration; https://purefidelity.ca/product-category/tonearms/

fsonicsmith,

I completely agree with what you said.  It is indeed a table worth saving for and spending appropriately to get into top shape.  The store I mentioned above which loves these idler tables is Deja Vu Audio in the Washington D.C. suburb of Vienna Virginia.  They utilize the Moldavian plinth you mentioned that you have, although they have also had their wood person pimp that plinth out with koa wood veneer.  

These tables do have a touch of rumble, but, they are lively and fun to hear.  

These tables do have a touch of rumble, but, they are lively and fun to hear.  

Thanks! Yes, but a good idler like the legendary 301 has a sense of drive and liveliness that few if any belt drive tt's can provide. My 301 has no audible rumble that I have ever been able to detect. I owned five belt drive decks before deciding that a pimped out TD124 and 301 were my final turntables. Barring Armageddon they will be still playing great music a few generations from now. You can not say that about most other tables. Art Dudley's articles on the TD124 and 301 are must-reads. Perhaps the best articles on audio ever written.