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?
When I went up to Ray's place near Wakefield, he just dropped my unit into a plinth without bolting it in and it still sounded excellent.
Ray is quite chilled that his units are as good as you can get and don't need tweaking. Easy to set up, a dab of oil every 3 to 6 months and years of maintenance free use.
For example, he doesn't like heavy mains cables, won't use one, as they pull on the motor. Just uses regular flex cable. He wasn't even aware of the popular Longdog Quartz power supply, made by Nick Gorham less than 20 miles from his place.
I don't find any significant warm-up time. Ray suggests as long as possible, at least an hour. Maybe with some bearings, I have his brass bearing and brass mat. I with my amp and turntable on, make a coffee, both are then warmed up. My coffee is made from beans, so it takes a little time.
I have Garrard 301 mat. I now use the Stack Audio Serene mat. Recommended!
The slate sits on the top of my open frame stand. I bought it online from a Welsh kitchen worktop supplier. The Welsh coast is famous for slate. It's everywhere. I think it cost only about US$300 for a machined slab 450x650mm delivered. A local chap called Kevin made the frame to my specification, its rock solid. Went for the natural look rather than powder coated.
The feet have a large ball bearing in the middle and are height adjustable. They were made by an eBay seller trading as Kridon Image. He sold about 3,500 of them to the Lenco Garrard Thorens brigade and then shut up shop. They were only about US$200 a set. I think someone does them at a similar price, but now I'd go for a Stack Audio Auva set.
When I get the thing going I hear only the slightest noise and nothing when I listening. It's been 100% pleasure so far and tremendous performance.
