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Garrard 301-Worth the effort?

A friend very generously gave me his Grandfather's Garrard 301 to restore or sell. It's not in bad shape, but won't play yet as it looks like it needs a new idler wheel and spindle (so far). I'm not crazy about the tonearm (Garrard with unknown Shure Cartridge) or plinth (plywood box). My dilemma is whether it's worth the effort and money to fix or would I be better off selling it and putting the money towards something new, possibly a VPI classic with a better tonearm? I currently use a Harman Kardon T-65C with a Grado Statement Sonata II and am very happy. But maybe I don't know any better. I've read great things about the 301, but I'm more into the music than collecting antique pieces.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
heyraz
sibelius
256 posts
 
Listen to one and see if you like it. I have a nice belt TT (Nottingham Ana-log) that provides wonderful detail and frequency extention but the Idlers I've listened to just have more swing and drive that make you want to tap your toes more. I've caved in and am currently in the beginning stages of putting one together. For now I'm planning to keep both tables as they have a nice complementary yin/yang thing going that gives me a lot of options.
lewm
13,424 posts
 
I am tempted to say sell the Garrard 301 and find a Lenco L75, because IMO the latter is potentially just as good sounding and represents a miniscule investment compared to the value of a Garrard. But I won't say that. My advice would be to keep the tt you now have or buy a low end Nottingham. (I agree with Sibelius, they are very good sounding tt's.) Meantime, learn about how to restore a Garrard and go about the work at your leisure. If you sell your useable tt and find yourself in the position of having to restore the Garrard in order to be able to listen to music from your LP collection, you will grow to dislike the project immensely and to resent the time you have to spend. Trust me; this happens. (Not only with a Garrard restoration but with potentially any vintage gear that needs TLC.)
schubert
7,386 posts
 
I knew a guy who was quite "handy" who gave up on a 301.
mosin
410 posts
 
Look at it another way. If you spend around a third the amount that you had planned to spend for a new turntable on fixing up the Garrard, after decent research on the possibilities, of course, you'll be out a couple of grand. That's the going price of a 301 without a plinth or tonearm. You could pull off completing it with trimmings by buying a nice used tonearm and decent cartridge. For that money you would have a really nice setup that would sell for more, if you ever decided to get rid of it. That's the key. It is an investment piece that sounds good. You will always be able to recover your money because it is a very good audio investment, especially when there was no initial cost for it. If you are handy, keep it.
hifigi
26 posts
 
Hi,

Do you happen to have the anti-skating weight (on a string) and the counterbalance weight that slide on the two thin aluminum posts located at the back of the tonearm?

I just bought a used T65C that is missing both of them - it has the black counterweight to balance the weight of the cartridge and apply the proper tracking weight, but not the other two smaller weights.

If you do not have these two small weights, does the TT work well without them?

Thanks,
Dave
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