I am also interested in the suspension / no suspension debate! The original Garrard 301 came with small rubber insert grommets through which the four mounting bolts connect the chassis to the mounting board. Ard Dudley in Stereophile overtightened them when assessing main bearings, and heard a difference. Ray of CTC emailed that they are not needed, but Chris Harben of Woodsong emailed that it depends on your particular plinth / tonearm / cartridge / deck.
Garrard originally expected the mounting board to be suspended on springs, which Garrard supplied.
On the warm-up time to get the main bearing to a stable speed, the original grease bearing needed about 10 minutes, and this was noted in Garrard's manual. Ray's brass bearing uses light oil and needs almost no warm-up time in my experience. He does recommend removing the platter and spinning it up with an electric drill every three months to get the oil to the top bearing! I use a bit of flexible tube to avoid marking the spindle.
I think the bigger question is whether the Garrard 301 is feted because of its sympathetic resonances (the chassis and platter contribute) or whether it sounds better when these are damped. I am building my plinth so either can be selected.
I note that Garrard have located the original die for the rubber mat, and makes these mats but won't supply then unless you buy the complete 'new' 301 from them. The mat in my opinion is critical for damping platter resonances, and I am using a 5-mm Achromat because it seems to couple well with vinyl records.
Now a couple of specific questions? Is the slate used as part of the support table? I have a couple of 50-mm thick Sydney-sandstone blocks separated by constrained layer damping as part of my support.
Second, the idler wheel in the photo looks like an original, which seems to have much more rubber than CTC's replacement aluminium or stainless steel ones. Since one of the objections to idler drive is the extra source of noise / rumble, can you comment on what you hear?
