Which phono stage for Garrard 401 with Shure V15 lll cartridge

@bdp24  Free the Decca by NOT loading it down. Some say run it wide open at 1Megohm. I’ve not tried that. I do run 51k and 47k. I tried 33k and 27k and it lost a little life and air. My guess is that unstable, loose, or cheaper bearings of yore lead to the idea of utilizing damping resonance by loading.

includes a 15k setting in his pre-amp, specifically for Londons/Deccas.

@noromance: Back in the Decca days, various samples were all over the place in terms of frequency response, high frequency "ringing", tracking ability, etc. The Londons are significantly more uniform example-to-example. Just to clarify: loading a Decca or London with a lower input impedance and/or more capacitance is done not to damp physical resonances, but to address electronic ringing.

In the long phone conversation I had with Decca expert Harvey Rosenberg in the mid-1980’s, he gave me a brief education in a thing named the "tank circuit". The high frequency ringing in pickups interacts with the input impedance and capacitance of the phono gain circuit, that interaction creating a tank circuit. Harvey told me the characteristics of that circuit can be manipulated by changing the input impedance and capacitance of the phono amp, and doing so can actually minimize the electronic ringing common in the old Deccas. He recommended building or buying a variable input impedance & capacitance phono box, and tuning one’s pickup to achieve the desired sound. No, I never got around to that project. ;-) And the Londons don’t suffer from ringing like the Deccas did. It's still there, but greatly reduced.

The owners pamphlet that came with my London Super Gold recommends an optimum input impedance of 33k ohms, and 220pF of capacitance. The London Reference pamphlet makes no recommendation, but I seem to recall reading somewhere John Wright suggesting something close to those for the Super Gold.

Equally important is the tonearm one mounts a London/Decca on. The design of the pickups results in a LOT of physical energy being generated, which can really upset some arms. That was one reason for the Townshend Audio Rock Turntable being so popular with Decca owners. The Rock’s headshell-located damping design sucked up a lot of the energy, reducing another form of ringing (this physical, in the arm itself). The Zeta is a popular arm for use with the Rock. I tried a couple of unipivots, but didn’t like them ergonomically. Too "floppy". ;-)

Those London-curious can find lots of great info on the pickups on the Lenco Heaven Forum website.

I am an owner of the Garrard 401 during a previous period of building a audio system, I no longer have the 401, which is strange as I do not sell much.

I have maintained my ownership of Idler Drive TT's through the Lenco GL 75 and the PTP Solid Nine.

Not too long past, I was listening to a 401 mounted into a Compressed Bamboo Plinth, used with a Origin Live Illustrious Tonearm and a Sumiko Pearwood.

When mounted on a particular type of support structure, from recollections, it was the best 401 I have heard without a speed control unit in use and there is a over the years, a few varying designs encountered for this model I have been present at when demo's have been given.  

I would be interested to hear the set up for the 401 and the Tonearm it is being used with, along with any thoughts you may have been pondering on a plan for the 401.

Hagerman Cornet II use that with my V15VxMR and VPI HW-19 mk iv

Marite, I'm enjoying using a Garrard 401 with DIY plinth, Dynavector 501 arm, and Herron VTSP-2 phono stage.

Cartridges are Audio Technica AT-ART 9,  Dynavector XX2MKII (Soundsmith Retip), Acutex M320 III LPM, and several others as the mood strikes.

This combination soothes my fancy, it will gladly remain my only vinyl playback system as long as I last on this planet 

Best regards,

Dan