Slatedeck Plinths now available

[petercom]

Paul, I am still surprised that no-one has commented on the performance of your Garrard/Slatedeck combo at Eggfest. I wasn't there, so I don't know what happened. Will someone please give us some details?

[Triode junky]

Dear Clive,

It really is a question of presentation, and the barely understood art of system matching. I use a Gyrodeck with SME 309 (fluid damper FDIV) armed with a Decca (rebuilt by Expert). I suspect, though I cannot confirm, without a detailed listening comparison, achieve the same dynamic bass and speed that you derive from your Garrard setup, with the added bonus, of a much lower noise floor, treble and greater levels of timbrel transparency.

However, these new slate plinths, may help to ameliorate some of the generally perceived drawbacks that the Garrard 301/401 are supposed to suffer.

Lastly, real men, are comfortable with 'rubber'.

Regards,

T.J.

[Clive]

Originally Posted by Triode junky

Dear Clive,

It really is a question of presentation, and the barely understood art of system matching. I use a Gyrodeck with SME 309 (fluid damper FDIV) armed with a Decca (rebuilt by Expert). I suspect, though I cannot confirm, without a detailed listening comparison, achieve the same dynamic bass and speed that you derive from your Garrard setup, with the added bonus, of a much lower noise floor, treble and greater levels of timbrel transparency.

However, these new slate plinths, may help to ameliorate some of the generally perceived drawbacks that the Garrard 301/401 are supposed to suffer.

Lastly, real men, are comfortable with 'rubber'.

Regards,

T.J.

Hmmm, well rubber's still involved but it's less intrustive the way I use it.

I sold my Gyro SE with Orbe platter and HR power supply because my "noisy" 301 in a CLD plinth totally trounced it. I use an OL Encounter and Ortofon Krontra B. The differences are more fundamental than bass speed and dynamics. Music is perceived as more real, flows naturally etc. Having lived with the 301 for many months I decided the Gyro had to go, it was gathering dust.

The generally perceived drawbacks of Garrards and other idlers stem from a total lack of understanding of what sort of plinth and support they need.

Cheers,

Clive

[James D]

Paul's 301 slate plinth Mayware arm and Denon 103 were the best front end at last EggFest to my ears, next best was Neal's G99 in home made plinth hadcock arm and Ortofon Kontra B. They were close but I had a clear preference for the Pauls...

However the reason I preferred Pauls is that the music had more life and sense of performance than Neals - and this is where the 103 beats the Kontra B. Neals had more air and possibly more detail in the treble. Both were very very good...

So what made the difference between the two? The decks? The plinth? The arm? The cartridge? Impossible to say. I conclude that both setups performed well on the day - though both can be better too, I don't think either would dissappoint anyone. It would have been nice to try Gregs 401 in the same setup but sadly we weren'table to do that - maybe next time

[NickG]

TJ, its not as simple (as Clive has said) as just "good bass", though the mags seem to suggest that. Have a look back on the forum, where Greg decided to try a Garrard, he started from a similar place to you, with similar ideas as to things like "lower noise floor" from belt drive.

[Triode junky]

Hi All,

Nick has an interesting, and considered, point of view. However, there is an alternative to both thread, rubber, idler or direct drive, and that is where
the platter is driven by a tape, ref. Sound Practices Issue 10, pages 10-14 and 43. Here, we have a fascinating and practical realisation of a stable drive mechanism. A welcome alternative to thread and rubber coupling, whilst avoiding many of the known technical drawbacks of existing turntable drive technologies.

These ideas have been cemented in the Redpoint turntable, it utilises a loop of video tape. This recently won the Absolute Sound best source component. High praise indeed. The engineering is absolutely first class, mind you, at a price. However, I'm sure a few bright sparks out there could realise a D.I.Y. version in next to no time.

When it's all said and done, as in most things, in this country, we tend to lag somewhat behind the cutting edge of Audiology. Take for instance, our sudden love affair with the single ended triode, most of us are guilty of this 'perceived' perversion. And yet, Japanese audiophiles from the late 70's and early eighties, realised the profound musicality that could be wrought by such means. It is only really in the last ten years have we finally latched on, in any real numbers.

It is also true the Japanese rate very highly English hi-fi from the 50's and early 60's, and rightly so. And yet, with modern technologies or with radical re-workings of existing or traditional technologies, can not more musicality be wrung from existing musical carriers?

Just a few thoughts, flung in no particular direction.

Regards,

T.J.

[Paul Barker]

Yes I seem to remember everyone using video tape at vsac, most notably Teres, but it was awash with such decks from budding oem's, all seemed to be hopeful clones of one another.

I wouldn't swap my 301 for any of them.

[Clive]

Hi TJ,

I believe it's possible to make really good sounding turntables using most coupling mechanisms....providing sufficient engineering is used. The top-end Teres and Notts Analogue no doubt sound very good indeed, but we're talking a lot of money here. Redpoint are very expensive too.

The point to idlers (and DD) is that they are available for sub £100 for Lencos and £200 to £500 for many Garrards. A little DIY for a plinth (or a probably a Slatedeck, I'm eager to find out) produces a deck with fantastic sound quality. You'd need to spend £5,000 to £10,000 to achieve something similar from a commercial product. I'm not saying they'll sound identical but close enough for an interesting comparison.

Clive

[Paul Barker]

Yes I agree the 5 to 10k decks are so close they are almost as good as ours. If I only had money and no brains I would definately take that route.

[Cobblers]

Having not spent much time with 5-6k tables I wont pass comment on them!

I am still eager to find out what the 401 will do when i've made a successful plinth and comparing it to the pink's, thorens, linns, Rega's, michells, townsends, systemdecks projects etc that I have had and been exposed to.
The Slate decks look gorgeous, I cannot afford one right now but may consider it in the future (if the 401 nearly hits the spot).

It seems strange to me the idea of a idler drive system that sends far more vibration into the plinth can be superior to a modern speed stable belt deck (however nice the engineering) but I'm hoping to be converted, it will certainly be cheaper!