The Best-Looking Garrard?

[Blue Angel]

Nice 301, BA!
And that arm just complements the set!

Had I not have a TD124, I would have had a 301, but for now, this is it ...

Hello gillsev

Very beautiful and traditional Thorens/sme rig you have. An old friend runs 2x just like yours and if it wasn't for space considerations and 'peace in the home', I certainly wouldn't mind a TD124.

I wonder if anyone reading the Garrard forum here owns both, equipped with comparable plinths and similar arms and would care to write a (albeit subjective) opinion of how the two decks compare.

Regards

ba

[philipgreen]

I own a Thorens TD145 and recently acquired a Garrard GT55. It is still very early on in the evaluation process, but my initial reaction is that while the Garrard does not match up in quality look and feel with the Thorens, it does sound very very good. Until now, I did not know that Garrard even made a belt drive table. I also have a Rega P3. Truthfully, I think the Garrard gives the Rega a run for the money as well. In any case, I am very happy to now own this somewhat quirky but sonically good turntable. PG from Atl.

[GP49]

Beware the speed control IC in the Garrard GT-55 and the GT-35, which is also belt drive (and possibly other Garrards, too). Several other turntable brands also use the same IC from Matsushita (so there are many Technics and Panasonic models involved, too). It's the UPC1003, and many samples go bad. The symptom is incurable flutter, beginning intermittently and progressively getting worse. That IC is no longer readily available; all remaining manufacturer stocks have been depleted, I'd guess due to the high failure rate. For a time I was able to get them from Aiwa, because a few of their cassette decks used it, but not for several years, now.

[jjohnstone]

I love the looks of my Zero 100:

Without dust cover


Or with dust cover

[JaS]

I love the looks of my Zero 100:

It's the nicest one I've seen

Regards,
JaS

[jjohnstone]

It's the nicest one I've seen

Regards,
JaS

Thanks for the compliment!
It sounds very, very good, as well. Listening to it now.

[mmarston]

Old thread, I see, but what the heck?

Hammertone 301 has the most no-nonsense, "I mean business" appearance. 401 is stylishly modern without losing much industrial appeal. 4HF in its curved base has a lovely delicateness that would look right at home with overstuffed, antimacassar covered furniture in a 1950s parlor. And I have a distinct fondness for the look of my own 95B.

But 1964 was the year of my first Allied catalog. Of all the technological marvels contained in its pages, I likely spent the most idle daydreaming time gazing wistfully at the Lab 80's shining visage... Simply stunning in a Bond/Hefner way that a young boy could not resist, in spite of my Rek-O-Kut owning uncle's dismissal of "just another changer."

So perhaps I fell in love due to my impressionable age. But that later Zero arm always freaked me out a little...

Best,
Mike

[totomatic]

Honestly, I still have a crush on the Z2000B

If I could find a real good one, I would like to have this in my collection ...

Similar to my 990b but with an s-shaped tonearm

[Foxhound]

It's the nicest one I've seen

Regards,
JaS

Thanks for the compliment!
It sounds very, very good, as well. Listening to it now.

You deserve it! It`s a great looking turntable.

[Zaimejs]

I was really hoping to see more picts... especially of 301s and 401s. I voted for my own just because I'm a terrible person. 95B ... manly... the Tom Selleck of turntables...

Funny stuff there.