Revamp Garrard 301, keep Oracle V or move along?

I would definitely keep the Garrard, but I am prejudiced, as I make slate plinths for the Garrard (Oswaldsmill Audio or OMA) and we are now the Garrard/Loricraft representatives for the US. So, with that disclaimer out of the way, the plinth is of course very important. Dobbins makes a good one, and OMA makes one from slate that weighs a bit more than one hundred pounds. We will also be coming out with a new Loricraft Garrard power supply for the 301 in a month or two, and that should make a big difference and a substantial upgrade.

As for 12 inch arms, I put a lot of Schick arms onto 301's (disclaimer- we distribute them), which is wonderful with heavier, low to medium compliance cartridges, but that is what you would be wanting to use with the 301 anyway. And the Schick is still a bargain. I use it myself, and my other deck and arm are a Saskia and Schroeder Reference SQ.

Jonathan Weiss

When I visited with Loricraft in England in December, I asked what the differences were between the two power supply units (PSU 301/Archivist and PSU401), given their vastly different price. The answer is too long to recount here (if anyone is really interested, feel free to give me a call or email) but the result was an offer by Loricraft to create for OMA a single new supply that has the performance of the more expensive unit, but at a much more reasonable price. Most people don't need the speed control that someone archiving 78rpm shellacs would want. This new unit will be useable by not only Garrard 301 and 401 owners, but Lenco and TD124 owners as well. That is the way it has been presented to me by Garrard's engineer who created the PSU line.

The new supply will be configured 110V or 220V in or out, but the settings are done at the factory, and not changeable by the user. This does mean, though, that you can buy a UK or Euro 301, keep it 220V and 50hz, but still use it in the US. And according to Garrard/Loricraft, that is the optimal configuration for performance.

Mike, as to your question whether your present unit could be changed, I do believe this is a possibility, as the beta tester for this new design was an earlier PSU which went back to Loricraft for conversion.

This is a fully new design. It is not an "upgrade" with some changes in boutique caps and such. Considering that the price goes down by several thousand dollars, but the performance is supposedly equivalent to the most expensive unit made by Loricraft, I would say this is a good thing.

I hope to have this online in the next couple of months. If I don't hear a big improvement in sound from the new supply, I won't carry it.

Hello Mike,

If you have the PSU301AR you have the top of the line supply and controller, with all the bells and whistles. I do not anticipate the new Loricraft OMA controller to exceed the performance of your unit. The new supply does not use the same technology as your unit, but should offer similar performance at a much lower price, and without all the adjustments of the AR model which are so expensive to produce.

With the new supply, the technology for creating a whole new PSU design had existed, but no impetus was seen by them for doing it until OMA became a distributor for their products in the US.

My comments about the anticipated improvement in sound refer to using the new supply against using nothing but the mains to power one's deck. If the new supply does not provide marked improvement than I won't carry it, as I think you better get something substantial for that kind of investment.

Hope that explains things better.