Loricraft Garrard 401

[dom_]

I have had my deck back from Loricraft for about a week now so i thought i would post my results.





I had the 401 fully stripped and rebuilt not just serviced as it had never seen any attention in its whole life.
The insides are fantastic now, everything clean, oiled, replaced that needed it etc. It spins so smoothly and runs up and down from speed so well. The speed control is spot on accurate now too.

The plinth is their skeletal plinth in black. As you can see this is two layers with aluminium struts and black squash balls at the top connecting the two layers. This gives the deck just a bit of give.
They also made me a custom mount for my Aro. This gives adjustment for overhang, something missing from the Aro! While they where at it i got a new mat (looks like cork but isn't) and two rubber rings around the platter to reduce ringing.

Everything was done to a very high standard.


Now the important part, the sound!
Compared to the 401 before in a plinth purchased off ebay (the guy who makes them with sme mounts all the time) this is another league. No comparison.
It is the exact same sound as before, just everything is so much better. It all works so well together. I can not find fault with it.
The bass is spot on, the mids are perfect and the highs that used to be a little congested are now crisp clean.

If you have a Garrard you should take it to Loricraft just to see what can be achieved.

I have found my perfect deck! I can't see any need to change this ever. My quest is over (except maybe the cartridge ).

[Paul Dimaline]

Very nice, very nice indeed. I'm not a big fan of the skeletal plinths, (far to modern for me!!) but I must say it looks a whole lot more compact than the full sized Lorricraft plinth. They sure are amazing turntables that's for sure, I bet you cant leave the thing alone!
Mick P will be inviting you to a candle lit supper in due course.

[DSJR]

Looks great. Someone should make a proper commercial base for the ARO (Aroslide?)

How much did the restoration cost? I've seen the Slatedeck updates which look good to me, but the platter rings and mat intrigue me...

[dom_]

Im not sure on the slatedeck plinth myself, i would rather something that was heavy and dissapated energy, instead of just heavy.

The mat is some industrial damping product that looks like cork but is very flexible, and the rings are just rubber rings. They sell both.

[spet0114]

Originally Posted by DSJR

How much did the restoration cost?

A very pertinent question. I'll wager it wasn't cheap! (Not that it isn't money well spent).

I too have one of Mike Greenwood's plinths (but without an SME cut-out). I was thinking of doing a bit of DIY to decouple the top a la Loricraft.

Cheers

Adrian

[dom_]

Put things into context though the deck work and plinth cost me less than an LP12.

[spet0114]

An LP12 can cost from about 300 quid to about 6K!!

[dom_]

Well, fair point.
The plinth was around £400 to give you an idea. The rebuild was similar but obviously just a service is much less.

[Uncle Ants]

I like the moody photos

So by the sounds of it £800 would see you clear plus the deck itself and an arm/cart?

[dom_]

Yes, the arm base for the aro was more. You could do it for less if you just wanted a service. Still a bargain for the sound though in my opinion.

[spet0114]

Originally Posted by dom_

Well, fair point.
The plinth was around £400 to give you an idea. The rebuild was similar but obviously just a service is much less.

Cheers! Thanks for the info.

[Stuart Frazer]

Looks nice. Any chance of some pictures showing the decoupling arrangements?

[dom_]

Will see what i can do tomorrow, and post then.

[Peter Stockwell]

Yes very business like.

I just got mine back from a Slatedeck service (Len Edwards), a great job. sounds really sweet. Mine's in a Bastin plinth.

[spet0114]

Originally Posted by User34

Mine's in a Bastin plinth.

Any chance of some pics?