Max length is iffy in RCA and very doable w XLR. the RCA depends a lot on the RF situation, grunt and drive of the phono stage output…. Maybe trial the RCA w a reasonable cost but well shielded Mogami….
Garrard 301 - Project
I have been contemplating for a while which turntable to pursue given so many choices. Every time I look around, I just can’t help drooling over a fully restored Garrard 301 or 401. Aside from being an idler-drive, I keep reading and hearing about their unique ability to reproduce music with its sense of drive and impact thus making them very desirable to own. And with available meticulous restoration services and gorgeous plinth options, what’s not to like, right!
Would you please share your experience, good and pitfalls (if any) with a restored Garrard 301 to avoid before I go down this path.
And what about the IEC inlet and power cord, would they be of any significance. My two choices would be Furutech FI-09 NCF or FI-06 (G) inlets.
I have already purchased a Reed 3P Cocobolo 10.5” with Finewire C37+Cryo tonearm/interconnect phono cable with KLEI RCA plugs option.
Still exploring Cart Options, so please feel free to share your choice of cart with Garrard 301 or 401.
And lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to @fsonicsmith, @noromance @mdalton for the inspiration.
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The matching of cartridge to an analogue rig is primarily a consideration of the tonearm. The Rosewood Signature Platinum is best used with a high effective mass tonearm. The cartridge will sound very good even when the match is not ideal, but, it will sound its best with such an arm. My local dealer sold a lot of those cartridges, mostly with Ortofon arms, and mostly with Garrard 301 and 401 and Thorens 124 tables. I don’t know why, but he did not like AudioSilente idler wheels. Unlike most fans, he also prefers the oil bearing to grease bearing; he said that the grease bearing sounds good, but it takes a very long time to heat up and sound good. |
I hear you..those are all legitimate concerns when employing a long single ended interconnects. I am going to experiment with long and short IC’s and report back. Thanks for your recommendation. The tonearm is Reed 3P, let’s see what cartridge I end up preferring the most. I got my wish list of cartridges 😊 |
I’ve heard this from a number of old-school idler fans. However, I’ve two 401s with the Audiosilente idler and both sound better than the originals. The 401s were refurbished and therefore the original idlers were in good condition before substitution. I suspect the increased detail and blacker backgrounds were not what they were looking for.
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@lalitk Cool ;-) Speaking as a guy with just 4 turntables, n +1 arms, cartridges approximate Tribbles….. |
- 111 posts total