Garrard 301 Deep Black by Woodsong Audio

A Stereophile 2016 Recommended component.
Dual tonearm compact model Garrard 301 in fully polished high gloss genuine 'piano finish'.  This deck has a footprint of 20" wide by 16" deep, weighing in at around 45lbs.    This is a fantastic turntable, highly capable and easily able to hold it's own among the 'giants'.   There is a good reason why the Garrard 301 has such a strong, almost cult following,  it is because when the deck is well tuned and set up,  and placed in a proper plinth,  it delivers the music like only the best turntables can.   Idler drive turntables are known for superior speed stability, and PRAT, (pace, rhythm and timing)  and  an ability to play records with a quality that belt drive turntables struggle to achieve.   

This plinth model features articulating armboards which offer a number of real benefits.    With articulating armboards,  easier, more precise setup of tonearm mounting distance is realized.  With an articulating armboard design, a smaller overall plinth 'footprint'than with a fixed mount armboard,  is possible.  In this case,  the 20" by 16" footprint is almost as small as we have heard of.  (though we have built a 16" x 16" plinth for the Garrard whic we liked)   Sensitive phono cable runs can be cleaner, allowing for the cable to be run from the tonearm base, all the way to the phono pre in, or step up transformer, with zero contact with any other objects, where in a traditional plinth design, this is almost impossible.   With an articulating armboard design,  one armboard can often be used to mount numerous tonearms,  sometimes even with numerous tonearms on each side of each tonearm board.  Swapping tonearms may be easier with the articulating board design.   Sonically,  there is little difference in armboard styles, as the armboard is very securely coupled to the plinth.    Articulating armboards are worthy of consideration.  We really like them, though we are equally happy building our 'fixed' mount armboard style 'Classic' plinth.

Please contact us directly for a timeline on creating this fine deck for you, and setting it up to your preferences.

This listing is for the complete deck, the Garrard 301 motor unit,  the plinth,  4 Track Audio footers, the PureSound 'Tenuto' gun metal mat. (Awesome upgrade, BTW!) the plinth, and 2 armboards machined to your choice of tonearms.   Stillpoints Ultra SS, or Ultra 5 footers available on request.   

The Curly Maple deck shown in the photos is for example only, to show the complete deck with tonearms, and is the exact model as the black deck in the rest of the photos.   
 
Here is an amazing Garrard 301.....     As good as it gets as far as Garrards are concerned.     You can spend more,  but you will not find a better built, or better sounding Garrard 301 based turntable.
 
  This is a 'no holds barred', full restoration, set into a top quality Constrained Layer Damped  (CLD) plinth, finished in a true 'color sanded', fully polished finish of catalyzed polyester, the exact finish used on almost all current high end grand pianos.  

Woodsong Audio is an authorized dealer for numerous different brands of tonearms, cartridges, electronics, and other necessities.  We can help you set this deck up with tonearms and cartridges to match your needs, desires, musical taste, and budget.    
  
    In the photos, 5 unfinished armboards are shown.  They are the black sanding sealer, and will be finished after they are machined for your tonearms. 2 armboards are included in the sale price, though additional armboards are available, and can be shipped finished, but undrilled, if desired.     

The 301 motor unit has been fully restored to better than new condition in every respect. 

 Starting with the paint, this chassis was media blasted, and finished in PPG's top line automotive basecoat/ clearcoat system with an aluminum specific finishing schedule, and every detail carefully attended to in order to ensure a long lasting, extremely beautiful paint job.        

 The main bearing has been replaced with the Woodsong 301 bearing housing, with close tolerance Torlon liners and a truly great and tested thrust bearing design.  This bearing is quieter than the stock bearing, with significantly lower Wow & Flutter and better speed stability, without harming the signature Garrard idler drive sound.  The Original stock 301 bearing is very well engineered with the majority of them still in great, serviceable shape 50 years after being produced,   but not engineered to be a top quality audiophile bearing.  In fact, the original bearing leaves a lot to be desired from an audiophile standpoint.

 The original poisonous Cadmium plating has been removed from the linkages, and the linkages re-plated in long lasting yellow Zinc.     

All springs are replaced,  along with a new spark suppressor, idler tower isolation grommits, and spring dampers.  New idler wheel bushings are installed, and a new idler wheel thrust surface is installed.  The motor has been cleaned, coils checked, the sintered bronze bushings recharged with the correct lubricant in a vacuum chamber, then re-assembled and aligned for many more years of quiet operation.        
Highly flexible, silicone jacketed motor leads replace the original, stiff motor wires, in order to minimize transer of mechanical energy from the motor to the surrounding structures.   
    
A new Woodsong precision CNC machined drive pulley is installed, so that the deck runs extremely quietly at correct speed for all three ranges. 

 An excellent, and original idler wheel will be installed on your deck. There are a number of important issues concerning idler wheels for the Garrard idler drives, not limited to precision manufacture.  Aside from a properly serviced and correctly operating motor, the idler wheel on a Garrard 301 is perhaps one of the most 'make or break' components on the entire deck.  A poor idler wheel will be noticeably noisy,  degrading the performance of the deck.  We have tried a good number of currently available idler wheels, and the best and quietest idler wheels we have heard so far are the original idler wheels given a little TLC to the running surfaces and the axle bearing journals.  Occasionally there are original idler wheels with flat spots, excessive wear, or other defects which warrant replacement, and we have some stock of original wheels in good shape.  We prefer the original wheels at this date,  and when we find one that is actually quieter than the original Garrard idler wheel, one that  lasts as long without maintaining 'O-rings' or periodical 'burps' in performance, etc,  we will install it on every deck we build and recommend it.  In our tests, we found that higher mass materials for the idler wheel hub resulted in a significant and measureable increase in mechanical noise in the most critical system in the Garrard 301. We also believe that the damping provided by the largely rubber, original Garrard engineered idler wheel, is a critical element in it's quiet operation.  In addition, in tests conducted on 301s running at 78rpm 24/7 for months on end, we found that the original idler wheels stay quieter longer, requiring less maintenance than the 'O-ring' type idler wheels we tested.  All of this is easily corroberated by installing whatever idler wheel you choose to,  and listening closely with your ears close to the operating deck in a quiet location, comparing between installed idler wheels.   Precise measurement with an accelerometer shows a fairly significant and measureable difference in mechanical noise.      It is interesting to note that the amazing flagship Garrard 501 uses a similar idler wheel to the original 301 wheel.       The original idler wheels are quite good, which is why we use and prefer them.    We do wish that they were more shiny, but alas,  this is a vintage and extremely well engineered deck.   Shown in the listing photos is an experimental idler wheel that we made from Delrin, but are currently not offering.   Virtually all of the Garrards which led to the cult status of the Garrard were running original idler wheels.  We know they work very well, and deliver the best overall, and long lasting performance, and most importantly, near silent operation when properly installed. 
 
An original idler wheel that passes our strict requirements, will be installed on your Woodsong built Garrard 301.     

 A new Woodsong CNC precision eddy brake disc is installed.      
 
Finally,  this deck is run in for several days and then fine tuned for precise and quiet operation.
 
Woodsong Audio has been refurbishing Garrards for the past 13 years, building our reputation on attention to detail and a constant striving for perfection in every way.  Silent operation, speed stability, and absolutely corrrect operation are of paramount importance to us.   After many years of building Garrard based decks, we hold our quality and skill to be among the very best available.  

This deck will ship worldwide in a purpose built shipping container. Please contact me directly for a shipping quote.      

       Please message or call for full details, and also to discuss any additional needs such as additional armboards, tonearms, cartridges, phono stages, etc. 

Thank you for looking.

Chris Harban

Woodsong Audio   208.304.0973    
www.wodsongaudio.com    
 (watch for our new website!,  coming soon!)