I am seeking advice and recommendations for a new plinth for my Audio Grail restored grease bearing 301. It's currently fitted to a Vinylista plinth with an Ortofon 309d and the combo sounds very good, but I'm interested in trying the 301 in a solid plinth that can accommodate a 9" and 12" tonearm. I want to avoid materials and construction that deadens or otherwise darkens the Garrard sound.
Without hesitation, the Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement series plinths I would recommend, namely for their tonal characteristics, musicality and open, lively vibrant nature. For comparison, in the past, having used Slate based and various composite based heavy plinths I can attest AF has it right. Over damping in my experience, is a killer of dynamics and life. Did I also mention the high quality finishing?
About a month ago, I referred an overseas friend of mine over to them for a 301 plinth, and he purchased a Macassar Ebony finished one. Breathtakingly beautiful and even ships in a crate.
Thanks all for the replies. I recently spoke to Steve Dobbins about his plinth. He uses a constrained layer approach similar to what I believe Artisan Fidelity uses. Does anyone know what, if any, differences there may be in SQ?
A couple of years ago, I purchased a second hand modified Dobbins 301 which although I thoroughly enjoyed, ultimately sold to a friend after arrival of my Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement. IMO, the later unquestionably exceeded my former 301 both in playback and finish, and as a result I simply no longer listened to it. Bear in mind, several other turntables occupy my space as well which share the spotlight! Admittedly, sometimes I want to keep all of my cherished audiophile possessions, then I stop to remind myself that often a man requires more than one passion to keep him invigorated.
With these finished models, its honestly challenging to try and answer your direct question in detail, as the decks themselves are just different animals. Bear in mind, I was not solely comparing plinth vs. plinth in my system, but totally separate turntable models altogether, which just so happen to share the same base Garrard 301 design platform and idler drive type of layout.
Really, after having owned numerous lovely analog machines over the decades, many designs at this level remain quite exceptional, but sometimes you just have to find the right one(s) best suited for you and settle in for the long haul.
I received the Artisan Fidelity plinth last week and have only been able to get it roughly setup with my Ortofon 309D and SPU Silver Meister. Despite not having the original intention to do so, I opted for the AF eddy brake and upgraded bearing/platter combo. I think I'm glad I did. I will get the AF idler wheel when back in stock. So far, I'm enjoying the sound, but it's early, so I will provide a more detailed report in the near future, including how it compares to my former Vinylista plinth. In the meantime, here is a pic taken by Christopher, with his arm/cartridge. I will post pics in situ once fully setup.
I am very satisfied with my Russ Collinson Layers of Beauty plinth I had custom made. I asked for eight layers of alternating solid cherry and birch ply and specified the same width as my Symposium Foundation Ultra top shelf. I asked for cocobolo veneer and piano lacquer finish. Russ did not select any old veneer. He obtained an unusually striking piece of 1.8mm thick veneer that had to be applied manually with clamps (rather than the more common vacuum bagging used with the more common .6 mm veneer). I specified no arm board/plinth pocket for the arm mount. I wanted the additional rigidity of mounting the arm directly to the plinth. The plinth weighs about 50 lbs. The plinth supports a nearly NOS early grease bearing rimless ivory 301. I kept the original grease bearing just in case, but for now I had it professionally replaced with a Peak HiFi (UK) brass main bearing and replaced the original platter with a solid brass slightly oversized custom platter-nearly 30lbs-from Shaun at Peak HiFi as well. That's a VdH Crimson XGW Stradivarius cartridge mounted on a 10.5" Reed 3P.
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)
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 and mass whilst not choking the sound.
We tried over 20 different materials from Panzer through to resins and many different types of exotic woods. Eventually we settled on a particular Bamboo which really opened up the sound. Internally the layers are 'broken up' to disrupt the stored energy. The armboard is lacquerd Brass cut for SME 12 or similar sliding base adapter (Schick / Groovemaster / Ortofon etc etc). There is a cut out for longer Shindo style bearings in the base, down the line there will be provision for upgrading to detached motor spec.
After months of trials (Measure / dis-guard / repeat) in the workshop it was time to sound test this combination in various systems / spaces so we visited a few friends (Some may know on here) for a spin. - Please forgive the compressed sound and poor camera work.