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401 back on line plans for a skeletal plinth needed please.

I

ian r

401's Nakman
60-70's night in them thar hills

Ok the Garrard 401 I've been cleaning up etc for the last month is now playing records again after AudioOrigami sorted the obscure high to medium mass SONY 1965-1970 transcription arm which needed a tighten up and leads etc.

Both deck and arm were my brothers from new so has had a gentle life but no use for 17 years. I had stripped the motor and cleaned the underside and sweetened the idler with input from Slateaudio
and
OK the arm is very diff from the Ittok 2 that I have listened too for over 22 years ..... and the cartridge is still the original Shure 75ed with a new stylus I got sent from the US till I get some sort of new cartridge. Can you believe it a shure m75ed ..... its like 1970 sounds night here.

Also I havent found plans for a wooden skeletal plinth yet I'm using the original plinth mounted in the middle of the music room floor on an orange box! Well once I started it up I couldnt be bothered to move LP12 kit off the shelf. But with the pro tem stylus and breathed on arm I just had to start it up.

gosh there is definitely something going on in the bass that is very diff from the Linn. My beloved was at my desk during the first play and she lent thru saying hmm 'fuller sound darling very nice .....'

To cut a long sory short I had no idea what time was passing and it was 3.0am when I stopped ...... I'd played all sorts of singles etc that have been unplayed for years, Animals. Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Chuck and Bo Diddley, Searchers, Donovan, PF Sloane ending with John Martyn via Hawkwind 2 and jackson Browne ..... although the cartridge is something else the characteristics of the sound are fascinating and I had what 3-4 hours with my ears 'stretched' out into the speakers listening to space, production techniques ( or lack of them ) and the music. I havent had a session like this for years maybe decades. fascinating.

I have still to change the oil in the spindle after cleaning Johnnie at AudioOrigami supplies a tweaky oil and I think there is a need for a extra earth nut under the deck .... I taped most of the singles on the Nak as I played them ..... and ate brekkers to the results this a.m. ...stuff I bought as a teenager...... fun to hear what I tuned into then,

I am bored with having to live around the Linns support requirements and although the Garrard was intended for use in the living room B system I wonder if I'll part with the Linn eventually. I agree the 401 is clearly a lot less fussy in siting needs than the Linn and will be more of a talking feature with its wee light etc!

I a-b'd the decks to start with with the Fire & Water LP by Free with its great bass lines and the Linn sounds better all round but given a cartridge and plinth I think even with this curious SONY arm (PUA 287) the Garrard will sound more appealing ...... however time will tell.

Just thought some of you might be interested.

I think I got the Stylus from Jeff Raskin in the US who was sad I was looking to use a Denon 103 as he feels conical stylus's are bad news for record wear ....... is there an elliptical option on the improved/newer 103's?
 
Hi Ian,

Nice post. My own Garrard is waiting patiently for some re-lubing before it goes into battle with my LP12.

If you're after a skeletal plinth, then one option is a guy called Mike Greenwood, who sometimes posts on here. He makes and sells them on ebay under the pseuodnym of 'mjea44' or similar. He usually insists on putting SME mounting holes on his plinths, but agreed to make mine with no mounting holes at all, so I could drill my own holes when I'd decided what arm to put on the deck. His prices are acceptable too.

Of course, DIY plinth making is much more fun, but if you're lazy.....:)

Cheers!

Adrian
 
Thanks Adrian ..... Mike has contacted me and I asked for a url ...... I didnt see a skeletal type for sale but will look again later. I spent last night looking a arms for sale on eBay .. from 9 pence to 800 pounds ....... The Sony is sort of a cross between an SME and an Acos but designed with broadcasting in mind, removable headshell and all that entails. One can alter the bias as the arm is playing which is interesting when playing some of the warped discs I unearthed. The 'Rock machine turns you on' - from CBS ....... never sounded this good back in the 60's even though this deck is all 1969 kit .. naim 32.5 110 and briks complete the rest ....... the Linn is still very very good but Im wanting to get them more equal and listen more ..... I still have a few hundred lp's etc and buy some from Oxfam etc a few times a year ... and frankly its such fun to see peoples jaws drop when you play them an lp which is partly why i want to get a deck back in the living room after 22 years!
jawdroppingly yours
peace
 
Ta Christian I'd love to hear one though Im involved in the search for a pre used Mercedes Van as well at present so need cash in hand for that.

I still have to find out if I can fit my Ittok to the 401..... my linn is sounding sweet so i dont want to take it apart and turn it upside down etc .... So tell me do tik toks have height adjusting pillars or are they LP12 centric! ?
 
ian r said:
Ta Christian I'd love to hear one though Im involved in the search for a pre used Mercedes Van as well at present so need cash in hand for that.

I still have to find out if I can fit my Ittok to the 401..... my linn is sounding sweet so i dont want to take it apart and turn it upside down etc .... So tell me do tik toks have height adjusting pillars or are they LP12 centric! ?
Click to expand...

The Ittok mount gives lots of height adjustment.

I have mounted one on a non-Linn TT without trouble.
 
Ta PigletsPater.... after a follow up visit to Audio Origami and further tweaking I will try the SONY arm a bit longer before changing to another Ittok but thanks for the info ... Johnnie rates these old arms quite highly.
I felt the same arm on both decks will allow dark night listening sessions to compare and contrast sounds between Linn and 401 albeit in different rooms.
Johnnie at AO was so good i wrote a testimonial for him ...he recommends a Denon 160 for the Sony so I'm looking for recommendations as to where to get one.
 
I just ordered a DL110 from williamthakker_com on eBay - cheapest for me given extortionate postage costs from UK to Dublin. Look at my Q-Deck thread in audio for other suppliers.

Richard
 
Sounds expensive Nick - using Aer Post recorded delivery I recently shipped an Impreza intercooler weighing 7.6KG to UK for €45.

But I was more talking about smaller items - £20 to ship a DL110 from UK to here, or £7 from Germany. This is a common issue for small items and a major reason why I purchase items rarely from UK - I can buy the item for the same price pretty much across Europe, but France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands postage is always cheaper than UK for shipments to Dublin.
 
OK lads lets not get onto naughty postal rip offs because I just bought the last one at HiFix for 74 quid with free recorded first class postage ....... I told 'em to get some more because there was a queue. A jolly good price i think.
 
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