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Garrard 301/401 audition request

I was thinking about the movie "Inception" the other day, where there was a line about how hard it was to insert a thought into another person's mind in a way that the person believes its his/her own original thought.

I think Art Dudley's very interesting column in the latest Stereophile re. his refurbishment of a Garrard 301 caused a not so little "bee to start buzzing around in my bonnet". I began to find myself scanning E-Bay throughout the day for the latest 301 or 401 offering; checking out Craigslist not just in Southern California and was actually the second caller to an original owner selling his "grease" not "oil" 301 in Northern California (can you say shouts of "Road Trip" followed by a not-so-little letdown when he informed me that the first caller was about to show up on his doorstep later that evening). I've just started to peruse the various websites, forums, and posts with owner's insights, observations and glorious pictures of both 301's and 401's mounted in an amazing variety of plinths with an equally varied number of tonearms.

So before complete insanity takes ahold, I thought it would be prudent to attempt to actually hear what the Holy Grail sounds like before embarking on what could well be a mad, prolonged quest. So...if you are in Southern California (or Northern California for that matter) and feel a twinge of pity and/or sympathy for what I have brought upon myself, and you are willing to share your wonderful system with me for a couple of hours, I'd be only too happy to provide a nice bottle or two of aged California cabernet sauvignon or, if you are a believer of terroir, a red Burgundy from the hallowed hills of the Cote d'Or to accompany the listening session. If it would be of interest to you, I would gladly haul my Linn Sondek LP-12 over for a little side by side comparison/contrast.

Anyway, thanks for reading this post and Happy Listening everyone!
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Showing 1 response by old_6eyes

old_6eyes
46 posts
 
I think that's a "sound" approach: try before you buy. If you're not impressed, nothing lost (good excuse for a road trip and meeting new people). Of course if you do like what you hear, as many do(including me), then you're in trouble - 301s/401s are getting to be an expensive proposition these days :-o
Even if that proves to be the case, there are alternatives, as Travbrow suggested. And DIY is always a possibility. I went that way with my 301. If it were possible, I'd have you guys over to listen to it, even though it's not nearly as nice as most of them out there (it's ugly in fact, looks-wise, not sound-wise, IMO) and I'm not set up for anything like guests right now, unfortunately. Anyway, it sounds like fun. Audio road trips - why not?
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