greg928gts Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 I don't know much about turntables, but I thought this one looked nice so I picked it up. The owner was an older gentleman who said he purchased it in England and had it immediately sent home to the U.S. I think he said back in the early 60's. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Looks veerry in-ter-esting. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 The build quality suggests a high price tag, to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 I have no idea how good it'll sound but it sure looks purty. We used to have a Garrard table when I was a kid. Not the greatest from what I remember but it certainly wasn't as nice looking as that one. That would be a candidate for the Garrard museum if one existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 That was well kept. On a quality scale, Garrard was about a 6.5 to a 7. Now I'm comparing to to Philips, Thorens, Sony with arm of your choice. Garrards were a mass produced unit similar to BSRs. PM the model number to me, I'll check price year made etc.. dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I think those early Garrards were rim drives (driven by rubber pinch wheels) rather than belt drive. I know these Garrards are starting to command high prices. There's a thriving cottage industry in England that rebuild these things, so parts shouldn't be a problem. I would imagine that sound quality would be historic rather than state of the art - still listenable though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiokid Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Hi, I have a great deal of experiance with Garrard changers, and the Lab 80 was one I 'cut my teeth' on. It came out in the 1960's, and was problematic. The most common problem was the the high amount of force needed to reject the arm at the end of the record. You couldn't use a high compliance, low tracking force cartridge on it, or it would skip near the end of the record as it engaged the trip mechanism. It worked best with the old Shure M3D and Pickering cartridges which tracked at high frces. The frustrating thing was when a Lab 80 owner would purchase a 'modern' low tracking force cartridge, and then bring the table in for service when it would skip at the end of the record. Notice all the levers and linkages underneath? It was a bear to adjust and keep working. This table and the Synchro-Lab series were out-done by the BIC tables in the early 1970's. They didn't look as nice, but were simplicity, and they worked well. Remember what PWK said, "K.I.S.S." -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 The only Garrard tables worth owning are the 301 and 401--all the rest are toys by comparison. An early 301 would be my second choice after my beloved Thorens TD-124. With a custom plinth and a good tonearm these old beasts really sing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I'll have to agree with Allan about the 301 and 401 being the only Garrards worth considering. They are great turntables and are my first choice among the "affordable", vintge turntable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Another tweaked 301: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Greg, still like the looks of the old table ... Reminds me of one my grandfather had ... that is, before he got the old BIC 980 ... Allan, that is one hell of an old tweaked TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Garrards-I had 3-of 'em-were good, sturdy, medium priced changers in their day. They had one screaming problem, and that was the headshell contacts for the cartridge. Every Garrard I've run across developed bad connections between the cartridge carrier and the head shell contacts. They are flat v-shaped springs that corrode and work loose over time. If you're still in the vinyl world, I'd get a TT with a lower-mass arm. The best Garrards all reflected mid 60s thinking along those lines and along with the idler drives, they're way out of date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I don't mean to rain on your parade, but, ... Audiokid is absolutely right. The Lab 80 did have that spiffy wooden (Afromosia?) arm, and "press the arm rest to cue the record," feature but the excessive pressures towards the middle of the record required to trigger the change cycle caused caused lots of problems, including extra wear on the inner grooves. I used mine with a Shure M-91ED and after a while, the stylus cantelever developed a noticable cant to the right. Plus the umbrella spindle required a lot of force to work - almost stopping the platter on occasion. In short, it's an attractive curio, and, with something like a Stanton M-500 cartridge could work OK, but I sure wouldn't be playing any Mobile Fidelity Abbey Roads on it. Sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 I've been reading all the responses carefully and I appreciate the feedback. I'm a little disappointed, but I only paid $20 for the table. I never planned to use it myself. My first thought was that I'd find someone here to give it to. But as I'm reading about the problems with these units, I don't think anyone here would want it. I didn't mention that it doesn't work perfectly either, it makes a clicking noise when it's running. So I'll see what I can get on ebay for it, unless there is someone here who would really like to have it. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Greg, The originl SPG is probably worth more than the $20 that you've paid. http://search-completed.ebay.com/garrard-stylus-gauge_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcatrefZC6QQfromZR10QQsadistanceZ200QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbsQQsoitemstatusZ2QQsopostalZ10023QQsosortorderZ2QQsosortpropertyZ1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Greg, check your PM. I would like to buy this Garrard. Would go nicely next to my ELAC in the "doesn't sound that good but sure looks retro cool" category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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