In October 2019, after a couple of months research, I decided to join the vinyl renaissance and buy myself a turntable, tonearm, amp and a set of speakers. With Bose, Sonos, Spotify and a plethora of digital options already installed at home I wanted to go for something vintage.
I am not an audiophile by any measure - in fact I would go so far as to say I am a total ignorant when it comes to hifi equipment - so where should I start?
In some ways I was lucky because I had nostalgia as inspiration. I was born in 1970 and whist growing up, both my Mum and Dad briefly worked for the Garrard factory in Swindon. I lost my Dad to Leukaemia 2 years ago and so opting for a Garrard turntable was an obvious choice - it would somehow help me to reconnect with him - I know he really enjoyed his time as an employee at Garrard, as did Mum.
I considered the more expensive Garrard 301 Turntable but this was originally produced between 1953 and 1965. It made more sense for me to aim for a 1970's deck and so I decided that I would go for the Garrard 401 instead - and so my search for the best unit began.
I learned that the 401's were often paired with the SME 3009 Series II tonearm. I was also advised that if possible I should try to find the 'Non improved' version of this old classic.
Sure enough, after a few weeks of searching I found a young lad from the Midlands, UK who had inherited a system from his Grandmother. Apparently he valued cash more than he valued the system and so a deal was struck. Not only did the system come with the Non Improved tonearm I wanted, it also came with a vintage Sansui AU 505 amp, also dating back to the 1970's. This Sansui model is not an especially expensive amp in relative terms but it was nice to be able to keep the system together and also to preserve that authentic 70's sound. To complete the set the system also came with a pair of Goodmans 'The Haven' speakers. I knew immediately that the Goodman's would not make the cut.
Selecting a suitable replacement set of vintage speakers was my next priority. With google as my guide I decided to go for the Pioneer HPM 100's designed by Bart N. Locanthi who arrived at Pioneer directly from his post as VP Engineering at JBL. To my amazement I managed to find a pair in very good condition available on ebay and located in Edgware, London. I purchased the HPM 100's and my set was now complete - apart from my planned end to end refurbishment.
This is the refurbishment approach I settled on;
Plinth: Navigating via, google, forums, blogs and youtube I learned that Layers of Beauty based in Barnsley, UK had a fantastic reputation for handmade wooden plinths. Russ at Layers of Beauty is incredibly helpful and knowledgable. After several iterations we agreed upon a piano black high gloss plinth with a six week build. The plinth would be supported by 4 x 10kg 'Ukishima 10' brass and chrome hifi isolation feet. I also found a chap in Russia who was prepared to laser cut the Garrard logo from a lump of brass to place on the front of the plinth.
Turntable: Russ put me in touch with Ray from Classic Hifi who are one of the only remaining UK firms still specialising in the full end to end service and rebuild of the Garrard 401. They conduct a thorough refurbishment as detailed here. I chose the service option that included the chassis repaint - in black to match the plinth.
SME 3009 Series II Non Improved Tonearm - John at Audio Origami is one of the countries leading tonearm expert based in Glasgow, UK. John will conduct a full deep clean, rewire and reassembly of the tonearm.
Pioneer HPM 100 speaker - A vintage enthusiast and audio blogger (Audio Tweak) has kindly offered to help me upgrade the cross overs. The cabinets have been stripped and sent to Jon Wallworth a local french polisher who is going to return them sympathetically to their former glory.
I now sit and wait for all the pieces to come back together - I am hopeful it wall all arrive before Christmas so that we can play the Johnny Mathis Christmas collection to complete the regression back to my childhood.
I will post pics when it all comes together...
I am not an audiophile by any measure - in fact I would go so far as to say I am a total ignorant when it comes to hifi equipment - so where should I start?
In some ways I was lucky because I had nostalgia as inspiration. I was born in 1970 and whist growing up, both my Mum and Dad briefly worked for the Garrard factory in Swindon. I lost my Dad to Leukaemia 2 years ago and so opting for a Garrard turntable was an obvious choice - it would somehow help me to reconnect with him - I know he really enjoyed his time as an employee at Garrard, as did Mum.
I considered the more expensive Garrard 301 Turntable but this was originally produced between 1953 and 1965. It made more sense for me to aim for a 1970's deck and so I decided that I would go for the Garrard 401 instead - and so my search for the best unit began.
I learned that the 401's were often paired with the SME 3009 Series II tonearm. I was also advised that if possible I should try to find the 'Non improved' version of this old classic.
Sure enough, after a few weeks of searching I found a young lad from the Midlands, UK who had inherited a system from his Grandmother. Apparently he valued cash more than he valued the system and so a deal was struck. Not only did the system come with the Non Improved tonearm I wanted, it also came with a vintage Sansui AU 505 amp, also dating back to the 1970's. This Sansui model is not an especially expensive amp in relative terms but it was nice to be able to keep the system together and also to preserve that authentic 70's sound. To complete the set the system also came with a pair of Goodmans 'The Haven' speakers. I knew immediately that the Goodman's would not make the cut.
Selecting a suitable replacement set of vintage speakers was my next priority. With google as my guide I decided to go for the Pioneer HPM 100's designed by Bart N. Locanthi who arrived at Pioneer directly from his post as VP Engineering at JBL. To my amazement I managed to find a pair in very good condition available on ebay and located in Edgware, London. I purchased the HPM 100's and my set was now complete - apart from my planned end to end refurbishment.
This is the refurbishment approach I settled on;
Plinth: Navigating via, google, forums, blogs and youtube I learned that Layers of Beauty based in Barnsley, UK had a fantastic reputation for handmade wooden plinths. Russ at Layers of Beauty is incredibly helpful and knowledgable. After several iterations we agreed upon a piano black high gloss plinth with a six week build. The plinth would be supported by 4 x 10kg 'Ukishima 10' brass and chrome hifi isolation feet. I also found a chap in Russia who was prepared to laser cut the Garrard logo from a lump of brass to place on the front of the plinth.
Turntable: Russ put me in touch with Ray from Classic Hifi who are one of the only remaining UK firms still specialising in the full end to end service and rebuild of the Garrard 401. They conduct a thorough refurbishment as detailed here. I chose the service option that included the chassis repaint - in black to match the plinth.
SME 3009 Series II Non Improved Tonearm - John at Audio Origami is one of the countries leading tonearm expert based in Glasgow, UK. John will conduct a full deep clean, rewire and reassembly of the tonearm.
Pioneer HPM 100 speaker - A vintage enthusiast and audio blogger (Audio Tweak) has kindly offered to help me upgrade the cross overs. The cabinets have been stripped and sent to Jon Wallworth a local french polisher who is going to return them sympathetically to their former glory.
I now sit and wait for all the pieces to come back together - I am hopeful it wall all arrive before Christmas so that we can play the Johnny Mathis Christmas collection to complete the regression back to my childhood.
I will post pics when it all comes together...
