Lenco 75 vs Thorens 124 vs Garrard 301/401 Who is The King?

[ttlover55]

Who is the true king of turntables and with what arm?

[Alec124c41]

Saskia, Audio Origami, Mantis.

Cheers,
Alec

[flavio81]

Who is the true king of turntables and with what arm?

- Technics SP10MKIII with EPA-500 tonearm and EPC-100CMK4 cart
- Late EMT direct-drives
- Telefunken PS 80, 81

[LPfan]

Who is the true king of turntables and with what arm?

They are all emperors, each ruling his own empire

Cheers,

LPfan

[Alec124c41]

The true king of turntables id the one I am listening to right now.

Cheers,
Alec

[ttlover55]

i dont Beleive i quoted other turntable besides those 4 im mentioned all the other turntables are scrap

[ssportclay]

Who is the true king of turntables and with what arm?

If taken as far as it can go with a new top plate and platter bearings, the Lenco is the king of sound quality. Since the Garrard 301 is the prettiest and the most expensive, I guess that would make her the queen.

[JayM481]

i dont Beleive i quoted other turntable besides those 4 im mentioned all the other turntables are scrap

Heard them all have you?

[dominic harper]

Having heard all of the decks mentioned, a heavy platter Lenco in slate plinth with upgraded main bearing will just pip a standard 401 in slate plinth to the post. But, the Garrard had its original bearing, and this is soon to be upgraded, so it may still beat the Lenco!

[bastlnut]

hallo,

which plinth is to be used with each drive unit?
what is it placed on?
which tonearm?
cones or feet or whatever?
which phono stage?
it all depends on the combo of it all!

if you want plug and play, get the Technics DJ turntable.
if you want something good, you will have to get all the pieces to sound good together.

regards,
bas

[DSJR]

All the idler drive decks suggested are total rubbish and should be sold as cheaply as possible

Seriously, the collapse of the mid-priced HiFi market in the UK at any rate has seen the rise and rise of these venerable old decks which were all but given away in the 70's to be replaced by the better direct drives out there. I'm not saying this was wrong, but we didn't have the decent plinths and pickups back then to fully exploit what these decks could do.

A Lenco, 301/401/TD124 in a 1970's plinth will rumble, whine and feedback their way through your records, so despite the prices going through the roof for the bare-bones chassis, you'll have to spend a fortune on servicing and re-plinthing them, by which time you could have bought a modern deck - up to you..

My favourite oldie has to be the TD124. I saw a mint one again very recently and nearly wet meself, it looked so gorgeous - it's the one oldie (with the Sony TTS3000) I've never owned, although I've serviced a few in decades past. The owner is going to have a period plinth made with rounded corners (like the Schopper/Ortofon one). Amazing that, according to Gramophone magazine at the time, a TD125 cost more when launched than a 124 and 150 added together and was regarded as a better deck (I must admit mine runs totally quiet through the speakers with very low perceived surface noise and no (elastic band) pitch issues I can hear).

[cafe latte]

After a sl1200 which clearly has no peers then it has to be a Commonwealth electric idler... Oh hang on I have both of those, some blokes have all the luck
CL

[flavio81]

A Lenco, 301/401/TD124 in a 1970's plinth will rumble, whine and feedback their way through your records, so despite the prices going through the roof for the bare-bones chassis, you'll have to spend a fortune on servicing and re-plinthing them, by which time you could have bought a modern deck - up to you..

To buy a Lenco L75, put it back in good shape and in a very good wooden plinth, maybe with another arm, doesn't cost more than $500. There isn't any brand new turntable that will equal its potential for $500.

A Garrard 301 isn't that expensive either.

The current options for $400-1000 don't come nowhere near in terms of sound quality. SL-1200? Restrained by its bearing, motor, and base. The regas? A toy (compared to the idlers).

As for the rumble... you should try experimenting with those units. The one who knows how to use them and how to get them in good shapes, needs not to worry about rumble at all.

[slawts]

A Lenco, 301/401/TD124 in a 1970's plinth will rumble, whine and feedback their way through your records, so despite the prices going through the roof for the bare-bones chassis, you'll have to spend a fortune on servicing and re-plinthing them, by which time you could have bought a modern deck - up to you..

Funny, my Lenco in original wood plinth is quieter than my LP12 and Systemdek Transcription. It also cost a lot less than the Trampolin II I had fitted.