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Garrard 401

My 401 is now with the (highly regarded) Martin Bastin for a full service and installation in one of his plinths complete with my rebuilt SME 12" arm.

I will be putting the same cart on the 401 as my GR and am looking forward to comparing the two. Whichever prefer gets kept*

*Actually if the GR beats the 401 I'll be trading up for a G. Then I'll be done.
 
Nic Robinson said:
My 401 is now with the (highly regarded) Martin Bastin for a full service and installation in one of his plinths complete with my rebuilt SME 12" arm.

I will be putting the same cart on the 401 as my GR and am looking forward to comparing the two. Whichever prefer gets kept*

*Actually if the GR beats the 401 I'll be trading up for a G. Then I'll be done.
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Sounds like an interesting comparison.
 
Paul A. Perry said:
Sounds like an interesting comparison.
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Hope so. This should be peak 401 (apart from clever power supplies and bling bearings - Martin services the bearing). If it can't beat the GR it's game over and someone gets a late (1973) 401 in perfect mechanical condition with Bastin layered plinth and SME 12".
 
Nic Robinson said:
I will be putting the same cart on the 401 as my GR and am looking forward to comparing the two. Whichever prefer gets kept*

*Actually if the GR beats the 401 I'll be trading up for a G. Then I'll be done.
Click to expand...
I’ll be Interested to see what you find but I’d be surprised if you didn’t scrap your plans on trading the 401. I have a well fettled flat strobe 401 in a Loricraft plinth with an Audio Note Arm3 and AT ART-9 cart. It also sports a number of reversible mods such as the SPH bearing, audio silente idler, an LDA quartz power supply and the Tenuto mat all of which have incrementally benefited the performance.
I bought a nice barely used GR and using the same or similar carts and a Tenuto or Oyaide mat there was no contest, the 401 making the GR sound opaque, shut in with a tizzy treble and lacking bass impact. IMO the GR was much more comfortable running AT and Nagoaka MM carts but struggled with the AT MC OC9 and ART-9 carts I tried.
TBH, it was always an unfair contest as the amount invested in my 401 rig is several times the price of a used GR. Taken as a mid price deck there is much to recommend the GR not least it’s usability and rock solid speed.
I then tried a G and again although it was a significant step up from the GR, it wasn’t able to compete with the 401, a view confirmed by some experienced forum members when they heard both head to head. Again I wasn’t happy that the G was bringing out out the best of the AT MC carts that should have worked fine on the fairly light arm potentially pointing to some inherent resonance in the arm which I couldn’t fully dial out even with a KAB damper. Again I felt that the G better suited higher quality MM carts such as the Nag JT80 and AT 150Sa where it sounded very good.
I’ve since explored a very different route on the G with a high mass Japanese arm which has had a transformative and very positive effect on SQ. However despite my best efforts to level the playing field, on the majority of listening ultimately the 401 still holds a slight edge which is mighty impressive for a deck nudging 60!
 
Lurch said:
I'm the lucky custodian of serial number 1205, bought it late 2019 in its original, ginormous plinth. The only thing I've done is rehouse it in a smaller heavier plinth of similar external design, beyond oiling it and changing the strobe bulb when required I plan to leave well alone.

As purchased.
tIASBZ1.jpg


Replinthed with OL Conquerer 3C.
8d8CBry.jpg


With current R200
lXZPgYY.jpg
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The 401 is now living in a custom commision Solid Sounds plinth with Jelco SA-750D & Per Winfield Ti, weight is a 710g Pathe Wings limited edition 01/20 (heat treated stainless steel to achieve bronze colour).

WiUjCZ2.jpeg
 
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Graham67 said:
I’ll be Interested to see what you find but I’d be surprised if you didn’t scrap your plans on trading the 401. I have a well fettled flat strobe 401 in a Loricraft plinth with an Audio Note Arm3 and AT ART-9 cart. It also sports a number of reversible mods such as the SPH bearing, audio silente idler, an LDA quartz power supply and the Tenuto mat all of which have incrementally benefited the performance.
I bought a nice barely used GR and using the same or similar carts and a Tenuto or Oyaide mat there was no contest, the 401 making the GR sound opaque, shut in with a tizzy treble and lacking bass impact. IMO the GR was much more comfortable running AT and Nagoaka MM carts but struggled with the AT MC OC9 and ART-9 carts I tried.
TBH, it was always an unfair contest as the amount invested in my 401 rig is several times the price of a used GR. Taken as a mid price deck there is much to recommend the GR not least it’s usability and rock solid speed.
I then tried a G and again although it was a significant step up from the GR, it wasn’t able to compete with the 401, a view confirmed by some experienced forum members when they heard both head to head. Again I wasn’t happy that the G was bringing out out the best of the AT MC carts that should have worked fine on the fairly light arm potentially pointing to some inherent resonance in the arm which I couldn’t fully dial out even with a KAB damper. Again I felt that the G better suited higher quality MM carts such as the Nag JT80 and AT 150Sa where it sounded very good.
I’ve since explored a very different route on the G with a high mass Japanese arm which has had a transformative and very positive effect on SQ. However despite my best efforts to level the playing field, on the majority of listening ultimately the 401 still holds a slight edge which is mighty impressive for a deck nudging 60!
Click to expand...
Hi - I'm still putting the finishing touches to my 401 project (I had quite a detailed thread running on the Wam in the DIY section, but obviously that's gone now ☹️) - I notice that you mention using the Oyaide mat: did you use the matching weight? I have one, and it's too tight a fit for the spindle on my 401 (?) - just wondering whether this is an anomaly - it slipped onto my previous DD motor unit with ease

I could modify the weight (which seems a shame), or sell it and buy a different one - but perhaps have the same issue....
I'm a bit confused by this tbh
 
Hi MS
Pardon my post which I can see was a bit confusing. I use the Tenuto mat on my 401 which is a perfect fit for the spindle. On the Technics G I tried the Oyaide BR12 rubber mat and the Tenuto. I prefer the Tenuto mat on both decks though the hole on the Tenuto is a little oversized on the Technics. So I use a bit of tape on the underside of the hole edge to ensure the mat sits central.
Hope this makes sense
Graham
 
This morning I received a double LP by Tyrannosaurus Rex who were the fore runners to T Rex / Marc Bolan before he went all commercial with glam rock. His original music in the sixties was brilliant but largely now forgotten. However his voice was superbly paired with his music and the 401 delivered and communicated the music in spades.

No way in a million years am I getting rid of this old Garrard.
 
I'm looking for someone to service a 401 that hasn't been used for I don't how long, maybe 20 years or more. London or north/west of London, preferably. I've come across Highview but not found any recommendations for them.
 
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