Hidden Hi-Fi gems

[Shevans]

Yes of course. The deal is you come with me to Northampton and help me load it. My Fiat Doblo should be big enough.

Sounds like a plan!

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I get back next Wednesday, let me know when you are free.

[Lindsayt]

Were you looking out for Staples Ladderax's in the knowledge that they sometimes come with Garrards? Or was it a complete fluke that you stumbled across it? My guess would be that you've been looking out for them for a while?

Be interesting to see what sort of arm and cart comes with it. Wonder if it will be a SME?

[Shevans]

Were you looking out for Staples Ladderax's in the knowledge that they sometimes come with Garrards? Or was it a complete fluke that you stumbled across it? My guess would be that you've been looking out for them for a while?

Be interesting to see what sort of arm and cart comes with it. Wonder if it will be a SME?

Honestly I was just looking at the Ladderax units that were local(ish) to me and stumbled across the 401 in one of the pics.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Its an SME 3009.

[Lindsayt]

You might be able to sell the 3009 for £215

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Yup! the profit on the deal will pay for another holiday :D :D

I am tempted to keep the 401 but that would mean selling either the PL71 or the Rek-O-Kut Rodine as my wife wont let me have three working turntables in the house. I don't want to sell either of those.

[jammy395]

Well i think it was a low down dirty rotten trick you cad - Too buy something that you didnt realy need, only too sell on to finance yet another bloody holliday.

(Travel's more than Alan bloody Whicker used to).....

Where you of to next ?.....

[terrybooth]

Yup! the profit on the deal will pay for another holiday :D :D

I am tempted to keep the 401 but that would mean selling either the PL71 or the Rek-O-Kut Rodine as my wife wont let me have three working turntables in the house. I don't want to sell either of those.

I keep thinking of getting a deck to combine with my Ekos (from my Linn). A Marriage made in heaven or hell?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

The way I feel at the moment is my PL71 will remain my main TT, mostly used with my Ortofon SPU gold. I don't know yet how good the R-O-K is but some reports are that is very noisy and difficult to get quiet and keep quiet, everything has to be right, but it is said what it does when it is right is hold a beat like one of best African drummers, its drive and attack especially at low frequencies really suits on R&B, Blues and Tamla and Chess, and good 60's / 70's US/UK pop. In the film "Goodmorning Vietnam" it showed them using Garrard 401's with SME - bullshit! US army radio stations used mostly R-O-K or sometimes Fairchild TT, Fairchild or R-O-K or Greys arms and Fairchild or Shure M3d cartridges. Driving bass and beat through army "on station" PA's that was what Good morning Vietnam was all about. SME arm would have destroyed that character, that much beat and bass would have had the knife edge bearings on the SME "chattering" like mad

The 401 is between the two in character IMO, It has the rim drive "drive" and bass and solidity in the music, my problem is I am not sure I like classical piano music on a 401 and probably wont on the R-O-K, and the PL71 excels at that, it is a classical music turntable par excellence and I listen more to classical than anything else. I have never heard a piano sound "so right" as with the PL71 and Ortofon SPU.

I may just hang on to the 401 (hidden in a cupboard ) until my R-O-K comes back from N W Analogue then hearing that then I will decide. But the SME 3009 is going - horrible bland unmusical thing, just well made and looks pretty. But knife edge bearings chatter, get damaged and wear, not a good design decision.