mr_gray Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 Hi All, I am fairly new to vinyl. I'd like some advice. This is somewhat rambling however i seek the indulgence of Stereonet members as i am in a SW sydney area and have been locked down for around 600 days now and my brain is 100% fartz. I bought a Technics 1210gr like 18 months ago on a whim and it kicked my a** and so I'm in. I have modified it to have a better power supply and i added the dampener and got a reworked denon 103 cart etc. Sounds fabulous and always improving with new things (grounding via Akiko etc). I figured I needed to upgrade ToneArm but then decided maybe I needed a rim drive so i bought a reconditioned Garrard 401. I run valve stuff and i figured i would try and re-do Shindo a bit so I found a Maerault tone arm and Shindo SPU-A and got those. So I was headed then for Garrard 401 and a 12 inch tonearm with Denon 103 (paradox) or SPU-A. I have different SUTs for the 2 different carts. But turns out 401 plinth is 9 inch only (noob problems) Anyway then I got an AUdio Note Meishu amp and realised that this Peter Q guy knows what he is talking about. He recommends a low mass suspended table which is not exactly what a Garrard 401 with an oversized heavy platter is on about. Do I ditch the 401/Shindo arm thing on basis that an external pod for tonearm is inherently problematic and since it doesn't fit with suspended and low plass platter philosophy that I tacitly endorse based on respected elder's knowledge or do I press on? The Technics never fails to reflect improvements in the chain. I love how easy to use it is and I am not a meticulous person and wonder at my ability to do all the vta / alignment tool stuff. So: 1. stick with 1210GR because running something more sophisticated may rely on setup chops i don't have 2. do the shindo garrard and either get an off table pod for 12 inch arm or get a new plinth 3. get an audio note table or at least some other table that is suspended and platter is low mass because they really do rule the roost
Red MacKay Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 Ditch the 401? Really. Just make an extension off the plinth for a 12" if you want to run a 12". Peter Q. is not the last word in audio - there are many others that run counter to his ideas that sound as good, if not better to my ears. Opinions here are like ars*holes - everyone will have one. Choose you version of poison and go with that. 1
aussievintage Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 41 minutes ago, mr_gray said: 2. do the shindo garrard and either get an off table pod for 12 inch arm or get a new plinth This is my choice. Mostly because of the Garrard idlerdrive. I'd get it even with a 9 inch arm, but you can add the pod or bracket extension to the plinth for the 12 inch.
wen Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 Stick with the 1210GR, spend the rest on more vinyl++++++ 2 1
PeterRM Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, wen said: Stick with the 1210GR, spend the rest on more vinyl++++++ And be too busy playing records on your 1210GR to spend too much time on forums, they just breed discontentment! Edited August 17, 2021 by PeterRM 1
audiofeline Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 Keep the Garrard 401 or you will regret it later. I've heard idlers tables sound fantastic with a long arm run from a pod. If you don't like this for one reason or another (which probably will be more practical reasons than the sound) you can make a larger plinth for the long arm at a later date. Put your effort and $ into the 401, it will likely have much better quality than any improvements to the Technics could offer or achieve (and that's not putting the Technics down, either). 1
mr_gray Posted August 18, 2021 Author Posted August 18, 2021 401 is my inclination. when i bought the tonearm i also got the ingot/mount shown in attached image. does anyone know if there is some standard thing this mount is supposed to attach to?
TemaadAudio Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 Do not ditch the 401, as long as it's a good one you should be in audio heaven. The Denon even with a an Alli body is not really suitable for the Technics as it's arm has quite a low Eff Mass & the Denon really needs a heavy arm to sound it's best. There are 12'' arms with separate Arm Pods of suitable Eff Mass for the Denon out there, do more Google research. The other way to go if you really like the 1200G is seek out a SP15 or even better an SP10 MkII or III (not mk I) then add a arm with separate pod to that, that is what I did. 1
Gandra Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 Which table do you prefer from a strictly aesthetics viewpoint? Then, there's the choice between complete system (Technics) vs building your own system from many individual parts, all of which can affect the performance of your table. The the net is full of solutions and tweaks for all sorts of table/tonearm/cartridge combinations. For the Technics, the only thing to worry about is matching the cartridge to the tonearm and, as someone above noted, the Denon is not a particularly good match to the Technics tonearm. In summary, the choice is between simplicity and flexibility?
Gandra Posted October 7, 2021 Posted October 7, 2021 On 18/08/2021 at 9:57 PM, mr_gray said: 401 is my inclination. when i bought the tonearm i also got the ingot/mount shown in attached image. does anyone know if there is some standard thing this mount is supposed to attach to? This is a diy tonearm mount that can be attached to the side of a plinth (by means of a single bolt), or you can build a separate tonearm base independent of the plinth to attach to. It all depends on the plinth you chose for your Garrard table.
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