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

[ipapb]

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.

Certainly a good DD is an improvement over idler drive but it seems that the best idler drive deck pushed excellence at maximum limits of the system and obtained performance enviables, with heavy and rigid base, bearing very well designed, heavy platter and good decoupling mechanics.

A DD deck with the same ingredients would probably be very good... but more expansive and complex.
Hi

[Mezz]

yeah my 2 Lenco's both in metal plinth's dont suffer from any rumble ...the whole rumble thing on a Lenco is a myth

to answer the original question I have owned all the turntables you mention and they are all good just in different ways .....best thing is just get them all

[aardvarkash10]

sp25 mkIII with a red ed.

Red Ed elliptical if you are a flash git.

[george37]

Hello

Picture of my second Lenco L75, makes a lot of motor noise from the plinth, but music sounds clearly good with a Technics 270C, i think when you listen to analog music you surpass some noises, the arm was taken from an old junk turntable.


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Best regards
George

[maco]

Hello George,

No wonder you hear that much rumble when I look at your setup! You should FIRMLY fix the metal topplate on the plinth. Bolt it firmly on a mass wooden plinth and you will hear ONLY music

Cheers,
Mario

[gilles13]

Last year i bought a lenco L75 in very good estate. I made a big,heavy plinth and put the lenco in it ,swap the tonearm of my usual pink pt too and i was amazed because on the lenco i heard some details in the treble i never heard with the pink. So i have sold the pink and have made some improvments on the lenco. I use it with apogee speakers and i have absolutly no rumble and the sound is fantastic. I wait for my new bearing.

[maco]

Hi Gilles,

What bearing did you order? Mirko's or Jeremy's ?

Cordialement,
Mario

[gilles13]

I ordered the Jeremy super bearing. I am thinking of ordering an idler wheel with arm from Mirko but i have read that one people has got problem with a sticky wheel and it seems difficult to get answer from mirko.

[ThunderingTyphoons]

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

Cheers,
Alec

Whatever you can get cheapest.



TD150 on the bay right now $189.00 no bids.Snag it myself,but I don't need another Thorens.[/url]

[charliewhite]

I can't really comment on which one is better because I have not listened or played around with them.

I just recently got my Harris CB1201 up and running and I am one happy camper right now. Quite hard to find this model let alone trying to find any info on one. I've seen a couple come up on epay over the past few years, IMO very underrated

[flavio81]

I'm a Lenco fan, but having thoroughly examined a 301 and a 401, i cannot see why it couldn't sound as good or better than a Lenco. Unless the non-grease bearing (flat bottom) isn't that good.

[gilles13]

The reason is the garrard is a turntable that you must treat with respect,it's expensive. The lenco is quite cheap and so you can transform it easily,so there are a lot of mods, and the big lenco sound terrific.

[omegaspeedy]

I own the 401 and L75, haven't heard a 301 but understand the 401 sounds better due upgraded design but the Japanese don't like 401's because the number means 'death' to them, and they are superstitious hence the 301 is king in their eyes. My 401 (standard bearing) rumbled and the L75 is dead quiet. I put this down simply to wear and tear and If I put an upgraded bearing in she would be quiet. Both sound excellent and I'm an Idler fan even if I have heard great belts and directs. To max these decks out with high modifications, I'd put my money on the L75. The Garrard looks better to me but the platter is slightly lighter. The Lenco has the best platter though I've heard the TD124's platter with it's constrained layers is very well thought out. King for me at this time and date, L75!

[cafe latte]

Whi is the king?? The Commonwealth idler
CL