Vintage (mostly)

I have never heard vinyl sound this good before. Surfaces are so quiet, the music seems to just leap into the room. I never knew this could happen, but I'm so glad it did!

Regards,

Dan

islandmandan August 20, 2023 19:02

Sorry to hear about you friend Mr. Morech passed away. We've got to love life, each day is precious. I'm pleased though, I just learned my new SPH bearing upgrade will be here tomorrow, so I've gotmy work cut out for me tomorrow.

Take care, my friend,

Dan

islandmandan August 17, 2023 03:31

Hey no,,but I mean yes,

Well, I ordered a pivot bearing from SPH, so it won't be long before I'll have the unenvioble task of tearing my turntable apart, most likely for the last time

islandmandan August 14, 2023 23:39

Noromance (me neither, way too old to worry about romance, so it's not a problem). Looking at your 401's, I'm currently very pleased with how my analog front end sounds right now, but you've got me thinking, and wondering, how much benefit would there be in upgrading the center bearing pivot.

I'm going from here to SPH's website, and look things over again, and maybe, who knows?

Love looking at your system, as always, regards,

Dan

islandmandan August 08, 2023 21:02

hi Brian, have you heard from the SPH Bearing man lately? He's supposed to contact me when he's ready to make another batch. Been a long time now, though.

Thanks,

Dan

islandmandan March 18, 2020 21:55

Hello Noromance,

I searched online regarding the SPH bearing, and can't find any info about where, or how, to buy one. Do you have that information?

Thanks,

Dan

islandmandan October 14, 2019 21:19

Hello Noromance,

I had to look to see if I had posted to your thread (I had, some time ago). It seems things have improved a great deal for you (by the way, I enjoyed the audio timeline you laid out).

I see you had a Paratrace stylus put on your Decca. I had ESCCO mod my Zu Denon 103R with a white sapphire cantilever and Paratrace stylus, and oh, my!

My Garrard 401 is performing beautifully, with the afore-mentioned cartridge and Dynavector 501 arm. I've also completely redone the exterior on the plinth, with some inlay. Really enjoying it these days.

I'm glad to see how much you're enjoying your system, it's nice that it's not all off-the-shelf stuff, it's stuff you had to take time to learn about, and work yourself up to. Very well done.

Regards,

Dan

islandmandan October 08, 2016 19:09

Hello Noromance,

I finally got around to tearing down my 401, and checking the spindle bearing. To my dismay, I found an indentation worn on the spindle bearing surface. So, the heavy mat and brass weight is too much load for the "Exact" bearing with its small ball bearing, even with it being phosphor bronze.

I gingerly polished the end of the spindle, not enough to remove the dimple, but enough to clean it up a bit. I then polished the original dome bearing, and reinstalled that.

I am in hope of finding an OEM thrust pad somewhere, but so far, no luck. With the old bearing in place, I noticed no ill effects from the flat spot on the thrust pad.

The earlier thrust pads were flat, so it makes sense that a flat worn into the pad may not be such a bad thing, but there would be less drag with a new domed thrust pad.

I may yet opt for a new aftermarket spindle bearing. I've been looking at the Kesto replacement spindle/bearing, but I need to get some feedback from those that have used one in their 301/401.

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan November 16, 2013 20:23

I checked into the Kokomo Ceramic bearing, and reports were not so good. Too much wear on the spindle bearing surface. So yes, I do use the brass bearing.

As soon as I get caught up around here, I'll do my bearing inspection, and report back my findings.

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan November 06, 2013 19:13

Hello Noromannce,

Like you, I don't spend money just to spend money. I looked at getting some of the best 300B's currently available, but I just couldn't justify the expense.

As a comprimise, I ordered a pair of Chinese mesh-plates from Upscale Audio, which turned out to be a big step up from EH 300B's.

The question of greater bearing wear, due to the copper mat and heavy center weight, is something I'm trying to keep tabs on. A few months ago, I tore the table down, and inspected the bottom of the spindle, and bearing.

I am using an after-market bearing, which uses a smaller, but perhaps softer, round bearing. There was a shiny spot on the bottom of the spindle, which is to be expected. Not bad enough to be a concern, but I need to do another inspection to be certain.

I did turn the bearing over to a fresh side, it may be ready for a new one now, as I said, depends on what I find on my next inspection. I'll let you know.

I've looked at alternatives for spindle/bearing, such as Stefano Bertoncello's, but I found the cost prohibitive.

Regards, and enjoy,
Dan

islandmandan November 01, 2013 18:22

Hello Noromance,

Since my last post, I sent my SET 300B for factory upgrades, and I put NOS tubes in (w/the exception of some nice Chinese Mesh Plates), it has proven to have great synergy with my Tannoys.

My Zu Denon 103R returned from ESCCO, where it had a saphire cantilever and Paratrace stylus mod. This has made a great leap in performance, as you noted in your Decca.

You are now exacting great performance from your 401, and the rest of your system, and that is something to celebrate.

Here's to continued enjoyment,

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan October 30, 2013 19:47

Brian,

The HF 35's got too high for me, so I didn't get them. I did, however, get a 300B SET amp, almost by default, as I only put one bid on it. It'll be here Thursday, I've been wanting to listen to my Tannoys with 300B SET powering them, so Im going to get my chance soon.

Best regards,
Dan

islandmandan March 19, 2013 17:52

Yes, always something to do, keeps things interesting. After seeing your system, I've bid on some HF 35's on Ebay. They need quite a bit of work, but they would keep me busy for quite some time.

What part of the world are you in? (I'm in NW Washington State, USA).

Best regards,
Dan

islandmandan February 16, 2013 21:17

Great system! In my case, a DIY 401 restoration beat the pants off a VPI Scout Signature.

You might consider Tannoy, in my large 16' X 34' room (cathedral ceilings), custom built HPD 315 (12" Dual Concentric, ca 1975) do an excellent job there. 15" might even work better for you, but 12"s work quite well in my situation.

I think they might be a better match for your Eicos, too.

Regards, and enjoy,
Dan

islandmandan February 11, 2013 19:47

Description

Room Details

Components Toggle details

AudioGrail Garrard 401

Jelco TK-850L 12" tonearm

Jelco TK-850S 9" tonearm

SPH Carbon Fiber 12" tonearm

Decca London Gold Garrott Brothers "Microscanner" Decapod

Decca London Super Gold with Paratrace and Decapod

Decca Grey Export Garrott Brothers

Audio Technica VM750SH

Croft RIAA-RS

Lambda Model 25

Croft Micro 25R

EICO HF-35 monoblocs by Stu Remmington

Quad ESL 57

System 2 - Garrard 401 birch ply plinth 401

Jelco TK850L

Decca London Gold

Decca London Maroon

Ortofon OM-78

Croft Acoustics Micro 25

Eico HF-35 monoblocs

Spendor SP2/2

REL Acoustics S3 MKII SHO

Clear Day solid silver Speaker Cables

Neotech UP-OCC (DIY) Speaker Cables

Comments 123

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