Garrard zero 100 turntable review how to#
Garrard zero 100 turntable review upgrade#
Garrard zero 100 turntable review free#

Getting that old grease cleaned out completely is a bitch! I can see why mine wasn't working at all when I pulled it out of storage.

Like I mentioned in my earlier posting, mine still needs some additional attention. But I too had to fiddle around quite a bit to get it to track at about 1.8 grams. My Garrard is now sounding the best it ever has. When I got out my old SL-72b and cleaned it up, I changed out my old ADC cartridge for an Acutex I had in my delicate parts box. Was that the recommended tracking weight given in the Garrard manual? I would think that 2.0 grams or so would be about as high as you would want to go, but I really don't know what is optimum for your Pickering cartridge. That tracking weight of 3.0 grams sounds pretty high to me as well. (I have a Zero 100 and I'm fixing it up, even though I own better tables it's a beautiful and historic machine that, while far from perfect, is still worth a little appreciation. Reading about other models like the Duals and Thorens and other Garrard models will teach you much that you can transfer and apply to your Garrard. If you are determined to fix up your Zero 100 yourself, read up on turntable restoration.

Garrard zero 100 turntable review how to#

Learn about turntable set up, so you know how to make sure your stylus (the 'needle') is properly aligned in the groove as it tracks.

Garrard zero 100 turntable review free#

Learn about the ways to clean records, because getting the gunk out of the grooves is THE KEY to getting records that are free from that distracting snap, crackle and pop noise. I'd suggest you read up for a while in the archives here (and elsewhere online). In such case, either sell the Garrard or put it aside until such future date as you feel ready to restore it. IF you are looking for a trouble-free experience from day one with a great sound, then perhaps you'd be better off looking for something a bit simpler, less complex, or at least more trouble-free. However, since you are new to all this, that advice may be 'easier said than done', and an expert overhaul of a turntable like the Zero 100 might be costlier than it is worth. and you'll have a decent turntable to begin with, or even to stay with.

Garrard zero 100 turntable review upgrade#

Despite what people say, those were quite good bearings when new, and if yours are in good shape, should still be.ДЄssuming it passes that test, get it fixed up: clean and lube the platter bearing and the mechanisms underneath, consider putting it in a better plinth, upgrade the cables and power cord, etc. As long as the arm is 'floating' smoothly without any excess 'play' in the arm structure, you should be okay. The first thing you need to make sure of is that the tonearm bearings haven't been abused if they are too loose, you'll never get remotely audiophile sound out of your turntable. The criticism it gets today is probably undeservedly harsh. Even many critics agree that the concepts behind it were largely sound ones (pun intended ), and the weaknesses it has are those of execution, not intent. It incorporates many ingenious and well-thought-out innovations, and was a sought after 'audiophile' deck in its day, that subsequently fell out of repute for various reasons, as some weaknesses were discovered. Originally, it sold for almost as much as the top tables of the day, and it won many awards. Your Garrard Zero 100 is not the best turntable out there, but it also isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Two reviews from Hifi-World ( one, two) and one from welcome back to the world of vinyl, too! 25 years after the fact :)Д®ven if a 501 is too much money for most who'd love to use one daily, be sure to thoroughly visit Loricraft's website as it does show what live-audio-made-by-real-people can be like, unlike the yearly chip swapping most brands have now fallen into. Since 1998 sustained by Loricraft in the UK, who managed to buy the rights back from the brazilian Gradiente to re-use the glorious name and even produce a successor to the 401. So what happened during the 1970s' painstaking and vivid research and the 1980s over-engineering madness if 1960s designs still rule ? I wonder ! The japanese thus preceded us in re-discovering what we made. The 401 belongs to that family of hi-fi objects which japanese audiophiles were buying for peanuts while we were looking elsewhere for ultra-tech and feature-packed items. It would've been interesting to observe in retrospect, though !

Interestingly, perhaps luckily, the 401 didn't see visually alternate versions throughout its long life : no 'disco shine ' version, 'faux diamond', 'faux wood' or 24k gold-plated with backlit ruby inserts. The 401 is a pleasure to look at, too, with more than one similarity with JBL's contemporary amps - 1960s design at its very best. Like a few other 'oldies', such as the Thorens TD-124, the Quad ESL57, the Marantz Model 8B or Garrard's earlier 301, the 401 still is going strong.