All change on the TT front
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 8:27 pm
After living very happily with my beautiful Anniversary I started to get itchy feet, (ears?).
I've always liked the Garrard 401 and thought it was about time I scratched that itch. I found a very nice, clean unit and gave it a bit of a service. I split the motor clam-shell and cleaned & lubed the bottom bearing. I didn't do the top bearing as I couldn't be arsed to strip down the eddy brake and pulleys from the top spindle, seems fine anyway. Bearing is perfectly clean with no wear or play evident. I fitted a new thrust pad and fresh oil. The idler wheel was in good nick so I just cleaned it and then left it running for a couple of hours against my fine diamond sharpening stone which left the drive face perfectly smooth, soft and flat. Fitted new idler bearings and everything runs very quietly. There was no plinth so I decided I would construct my own using my take on constrained layer damping. From top to bottom the plinth is layered up thus:
5mm black acrylic
1mm bitumen, (flashband),
3mm cork/nitrile,
25mm birch ply,
2mm lead sheet,
25mm birch ply,
1mm bitumen, (flashband),
3mm cork/nitrile
25mm birch ply
There's a big cut-out for a 401 and with that removed the plinth weighs in at approx 18kg. I cut a separate 12mm acrylic armboard and damped it further with some flashband on the bottom, this screws down into the main plinth using rubber well-nuts. I wasn't sure how I was going to finish the edges but after cleaning it all up I really like the look of the layers so have left as-is.
I mounted my Wilson Benesch ACT 0.5 arm on it with the Benz Gullwing. There was no original mat so I had a bit of a search and the cork/nitrile mats seemed popular so I ordered one of those. All built up it looked really nice but how would it sound?
Pretty shite was the answer! The vocals were thin and hard while the overall presentation was dry and relentless. I re-checked all my geometry and that was all fine so I called my mate, who owns a 401 to get him down and see what he thought. He brought with him an original mat to try - what a difference! Everything snapped into focus, the bass deepened and it all sounded so much more musical !! I'm still in the process of trying various combinations and am enjoying the process. The arm is now an SME IV and the best mat I've found is actually the Origin Live one which works very well indeed.
Never one to pass up a bargain I picked up an ex-demo Koetsu Black Goldline with less than 100 hours use for a grand to play-off against the Gullwing. I was expecting the Koetsu to be lush and coloured but highly musical but it was, in fact, very modern sounding and not unlike the Gullwing ! Ultimately I have decided on the Gullwing so if anyone wants an immaculate low use Koetsu Black Goldline it is now for sale at £1K - £1750 new.
Yet another bargain came my way in the shape of a brand-new Allnic Puritas for a price I couldn't resist. It's not here yet but when it is it will go up against the Gullwing.
I've always liked the Garrard 401 and thought it was about time I scratched that itch. I found a very nice, clean unit and gave it a bit of a service. I split the motor clam-shell and cleaned & lubed the bottom bearing. I didn't do the top bearing as I couldn't be arsed to strip down the eddy brake and pulleys from the top spindle, seems fine anyway. Bearing is perfectly clean with no wear or play evident. I fitted a new thrust pad and fresh oil. The idler wheel was in good nick so I just cleaned it and then left it running for a couple of hours against my fine diamond sharpening stone which left the drive face perfectly smooth, soft and flat. Fitted new idler bearings and everything runs very quietly. There was no plinth so I decided I would construct my own using my take on constrained layer damping. From top to bottom the plinth is layered up thus:
5mm black acrylic
1mm bitumen, (flashband),
3mm cork/nitrile,
25mm birch ply,
2mm lead sheet,
25mm birch ply,
1mm bitumen, (flashband),
3mm cork/nitrile
25mm birch ply
There's a big cut-out for a 401 and with that removed the plinth weighs in at approx 18kg. I cut a separate 12mm acrylic armboard and damped it further with some flashband on the bottom, this screws down into the main plinth using rubber well-nuts. I wasn't sure how I was going to finish the edges but after cleaning it all up I really like the look of the layers so have left as-is.
I mounted my Wilson Benesch ACT 0.5 arm on it with the Benz Gullwing. There was no original mat so I had a bit of a search and the cork/nitrile mats seemed popular so I ordered one of those. All built up it looked really nice but how would it sound?
Pretty shite was the answer! The vocals were thin and hard while the overall presentation was dry and relentless. I re-checked all my geometry and that was all fine so I called my mate, who owns a 401 to get him down and see what he thought. He brought with him an original mat to try - what a difference! Everything snapped into focus, the bass deepened and it all sounded so much more musical !! I'm still in the process of trying various combinations and am enjoying the process. The arm is now an SME IV and the best mat I've found is actually the Origin Live one which works very well indeed.
Never one to pass up a bargain I picked up an ex-demo Koetsu Black Goldline with less than 100 hours use for a grand to play-off against the Gullwing. I was expecting the Koetsu to be lush and coloured but highly musical but it was, in fact, very modern sounding and not unlike the Gullwing ! Ultimately I have decided on the Gullwing so if anyone wants an immaculate low use Koetsu Black Goldline it is now for sale at £1K - £1750 new.
Yet another bargain came my way in the shape of a brand-new Allnic Puritas for a price I couldn't resist. It's not here yet but when it is it will go up against the Gullwing.
I made a prototype first and used Gorilla glue, what a bloody nightmare! It was slipping and sliding all over the place, then the glue started expanding and squidging out everywhere, including all over me and my cramps, big mistake. I used Evo-Stik Timebond for the production plinth which was much easier.
