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  1. Agrail

    Has anyone moved on from idlers, Garrards??

    Curious about this description, I've never heard a Garrard described as fatiguing? (I've heard a lot of pro & con's just not this)
  2. Agrail

    Has anyone moved on from idlers, Garrards??

    A fast track to audioneuroses...The rub with Squash balls or sorbothane is most turntables don't have even weight distribution. This makes leveling fun but also has ramifications in terms of resonance, (compression variation) squash balls in particular worsen over time.
  3. Agrail

    Has anyone moved on from idlers, Garrards??

    Like vintage cars / cameras / watches or any vintage precision engineering, you need to roll your sleeves up with Garrards. The rewards are worth it. Zerostargeneral's example (pictured above) is the best i've heard in 400+ examples I've got to know.
  4. Agrail

    Has anyone moved on from idlers, Garrards??

    We're seeing this more and more often. The reasoning when asked ranges from: Dedicated Mono front ends, a thirst for drive & dynamics. Through to guys who've run the audio gauntlet over many years to end up full circle hankering after a 'classic' and all that connotes.
  5. Agrail

    Audiograil plinth

    Moving into prototype phase, we hope to have something to share soon
  6. Agrail

    Cartridge - headshell for the Bokrand tonearm

    Ah, I'm sorry to hear the plinth became problematic.I hope it's all come together now?
  7. Agrail

    Cartridge - headshell for the Bokrand tonearm

    What plinth did you go for ? Was it a custom build or stock offering?
  8. Agrail

    Audiograil plinth

    Currently working on the 401 design but still a little while out.
  9. Agrail

    Three no trumps when vulnerable

    Agreed. It takes quite a room to humble some of the equipment in this space. Having heard this system, I can say the transient response is unlike anything I've experienced previously. There are a lot of elements and synergy required to create such a sound and I'm sure the General would be able...
  10. Agrail

    In praise of idlers

    If you have tried a number of arms + carts and ruled out any potential speaker crossover / tweeter issues with another source, my first thought would be to focus on the idler wheel. The short film below (It's out of context but the function is pertinent) illustrates basic idler maintenance. If...
  11. Agrail

    Three no trumps when vulnerable

    Perhaps it's the combination of Avengers imagery, the Garrard and the grandeur? This room strikes me as a place Lord Snowdon would inhabit.
  12. Agrail

    Three no trumps when vulnerable

    So tasteful. I see the DRD5 is settling in well behind the sofa.
  13. Agrail

    In praise of idlers

    In keeping with the thread title it would be difficult to skim over some of idler units used / adapted for industry... Finally a year long project comes to a close. This full console BBC unit, known as the DRD5 was the first iteration of the 301 to be used by the BBC (The later version being...
  14. Agrail

    In praise of idlers

    'Swiss Precision' may interest some on this thread. My apologies for the focus on Audio Grail it was a privilege to be a small part of this. (N.B: The two book compendium is in German only currently)
  15. Agrail

    Best turntable under 50k?

    For guys who are earnest and serious in terms of vintage Garrards, getting to grips with the various types of 301 and 401, living with them and appreciating what they can do and what makes them interesting makes a certain sense. Opinions not based on lived experience can often be a little 1D.
  16. Agrail

    Best turntable under 50k?

    There is certainly a pleasure and attraction in a dedicated vintage Mono system. It seems more and more that serious guys are taking a keen interest in this direction. A friend (Some may know on here) with quite some experience in high end has been quietly amassing the finest collection of...
  17. Agrail

    Best turntable under 50k?

    We've had similar Shindo units in. I'd like to say upfront I hold Shindo in the highest esteem and appreciate he stood on the shoulders of giants to create many of his products: The Latour --> Westrex Acoustilens. EMT --> Shindo bearing, Ortofon / Altec / WE etc etc. His understanding of the...
  18. Agrail

    Plinth for Garrard 301

    Cherry is revered in Japan, Europian Cherry is quite different really neither are particularly noted for their intrinsic damping but the tone is quite nice. The plinth below was a trial solid Cherry plinth with very very close cut outs
  19. Agrail

    Plinth for Garrard 301

    Shindo internal (Apologies for the poor shot.)
  20. Agrail

    Plinth for Garrard 301

    It's been a while coming but we finally got round to making a 301 plinth. The concept was about symmetry order and understatement allowing the 301 to be the star of the show. The Veneer is walnut with the internals and base in black. Constructed with materials offering good damping / stiffness...
  21. Agrail

    New Garrard Build

    Sugano San's 401's used when testing his earlier carts
  22. Agrail

    DaVa FC-A1 a field coil contender

    When Guy. S came over to play with power supplies it was fun to play with the two IO Ltds with battery and kondo power supplies. Mine is a late 80's Kondo, Guy's was rebuilt by AN UK... differing cantilever materials. I wouldn't describe either as particularly boring in comparison to a Koetsu...
  23. Agrail

    DaVa FC-A1 a field coil contender

    Looks like a nice cartridge - I see there's a copper bodied one now too. For those that have one, has anyone noticed a change in tracking / bias with the leads running up the arm tube and over the bearing? Anyone tried a battery power supply? I have a Kondo IO Ltd and the cables that came with...
  24. Agrail

    Plinth for Garrard 301

    The Cusworth plinths are completely hand crafted, the motor is detached from the chassis and held internally on an inert platform, similarly the arm pod is detached from the top of the plinth and secured on it's own inert pod. The woods used are saw cut (Not veneers)
  25. Agrail

    Plinths

    Clive's 301 was a grease bearing. The tolerances of the Grease bearing are much looser (To allow for the grease) hence the lack of decay and subtle detail noted. The 'energy differential' is an interesting observation, the 80's JPN Ortofon arm and SPU perhaps isn't the most lively presentation...

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