Garrard 301 - Project

@pindac 

Thank you for sharing such detailed insights. I was just as fascinated and intrigued by Artisan Fidelity hydrodynamic approach, especially their use of sapphire and thermoplastics.  Ow that I’ve seen it in person, I can say without any doubt that these two pieces are meticulously crafted with very tight tolerances. I’ll share impressions once the hybrid platter and bearing are installed. I am looking forward to see (hear) how these refinements translate into musical expression without loosing Garrard 301 soul. 

@noromance 

Still waiting on plinth arrival. Last update, brass arm-boards being worked out. Hopefully, by end of the month. 

@lalitk Your willingness to investigate and taking this to the place you have now achieved is the road less travelled where Vintage TT's are the interest.

With the New and Original Parts that will be readily at hand, there are easy win options to learn where the real benefits of changes made are to be found.

You are in quite a unique place to express your thoughts on the impression made by a Singular Item exchange and the complete swap out.

From my early day experiences had with ID TT's, I was being enabled to experience very impressive results from Bearings undergoing design changes.

Sapphire and Thermoplastics used are not uncommon to me and have been experienced in use as part of a Modification of a Bearing Assembly. 

Prior to going through the later experiences, where interest was shown for variations on Plinths Designs and Materials and then the later redirection to a particular Tonearm. I do believe, quite a few years past without these latest experiences, I would have stood strong in the idea, the Bearing being an optimised design was all that was required to get to a place where exceptional betterment was achieved for the overall function of the TT.

I have been fortunate to 'not get off the bus' and encountered individuals on their own journey that have become enlightening to myself. I am very contented to wear their philosophies and produced work on my sleeve.  

It was the discovery of a Tonearm Design which was selected for use and the adoption of Panzerholz as the Plinth material that brought everything about Bearing quality together in a more than satisfactory manner when used with the current in use TT. 

I stand strong today in the understanding, the Bearing design / assembly on both the TT and TA must be optimised and the Material used that couples these has to have the ability to manage energies produced by either in a way that does not impede either from functioning at their optimal. 

The really good news is that there are offerings from both the Commercial Sector and other Routes to be able to attain Bearing Assemblies for both a TT and TA that do deliver an optimised performance. The next good news is that there are materials becoming more widespread used, that enables these parts to be attached to and work together as a much improved interface. Investigation will show, that such designs can become available at different costs, depending on which route is used to attain them.

In your own case using AF to assist with attaining a proportion of this and WA for the Plinth, will bring a lot, especially if Panzerholz included in the Plinths Structure.   

For the current TT in use there is also a New Bearing Design which pretty much removes all OEM material from the methodology, which as a result of the design used for the TT, allows for Platters designs to be used that are very different from the OEM model.

Why do I like the Vinyl Source so much? Running parallel with the Listening to Recorded Music on Vinyl are the History, Collection of Albums and Sentiment. Equal to these is the other History, where there is presented, the wonderment of the possibilities to be had from creating differences to mechanical interfaces. It is this that also keeps me very rooted in this medium.

I am sure there are similar types of individual who get the same buzz from attempts made to control Temperature and Isolate Externally Born Frequencies from contaminating the 10Mhz Master Clock Oscillation. I have seen enough to be able to put my own thoughts towards Double Ovens and Tungsten Blocks when my thoughts go towards a Master Clock.    

Lewm,

I don’t think Vu’s preference for lighter bases for idler tables is a particularly strong preference as his builder makes solid bases for some customers.  If Vu truly does not like something, he doesn’t do it customer wishes not withstanding.

“Your willingness to investigate and taking this to the place you have now achieved is the road less travelled where Vintage TT’s are the interest.”
@pindac 

Thanks…My listening impressions will have to wait a bit, as I ran into a small snag with the Artisan Fidelity Hybrid Platter + Bearing installation. Thankfully, I caught it early and I’m relieved to have discovered the issue now rather than later.

Due to the increased platter height, my armboards will need to be raised about 1 inch to achieve proper VTA and clearance. A quick call to Chris at Woodsong Audio, and as always, a solution is already in motion. His responsiveness, flexibility and craftsmanship continue to impress.

I’ve uploaded photos #12–16 of the new platter in my virtual system for anyone interested. Even in its temporary setup, the new hardware looks and feels exceptional — the machining and finish quality are first-rate. I’m eager to hear what it brings once everything’s dialed in. The plinth is expected to arrive by end of October which gives me plenty of time to break-in the platter. 

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11092

Larry. I used to hang out at Vu's store on the occasional Saturday afternoon, mostly listening to his various systems.  That was the first small place out on Rte 123, I think is where it was.  He then moved to the second floor of a red brick office building down the street; I don't know if he is still there.  I began to feel guilty about hanging around without buying anything, so I stopped doing it.  Even then my tastes in equipment (ESLs driven by OTLs) were somewhat different from Vu's preferences. But we always got along OK. I think he is a nice guy. I did listen at the home of one of his customers to a TD124 he bought from Vu, when I was trying to decide which of the big 3 vintage idlers to buy.  I have to say I preferred the 301 or the Lenco (what I have now) over the TD124 that I auditioned.