Garrard 401 and SME 2000 plinth

[captainpugwash]

Good morning,
With all the discussions on here re the 401,I have decided to dig mine out and try it.
When I bought it years ago it came with but not fitted in an SME 2000 plinth.
What does anyone think of the plinth ?
I suppose SME must have thought it was a good idea at the time but maybe not now.
Forgetting about any other issues, what does put me off is the size of it, almost the size of a small bungalow.
Any thoughts or comments appreciated.
Kind regards,
David

[Radio Wrangler]

They probably planned it so that it could also take their 12 inch arm.

The 401 gets mounted on thick-ish plywood, but maybe not as thick or as well-damped as modern thinking would have.

With a rock-solid hard-mounted turntable (and arm base) you certainly want good damping of any resonance modes..

Nice to look at, too big, but of the period of the 401. If i had a 401, I'd probably laminate layers of ply and rubber, but I really prefer suspended turntables anyway.

David

[Chiltern]

David

You are quite right regarding the size of the plinth and of course these days the trend is for more solid structures. That said I've bought a another 401 this year in an SME plinth and fitted with a SME 3009 MkIII/V15,III. And it works very well, SME were very successful with the plinth, just really the size a problem.

You do get used to it, my other 401 is in a dimensionally smaller plinth by Loricraft, which is just as daunting to look at. Both in my eyes a work of art, of their time and I would not change them.

Set it up and enjoy.

Alan

[gramofiend]

Hi Captain Pugwash.

I too, have an SME 2000 plinth system but did find the mounting board inadaquate for the mounting of such a player and after several years finding myself with an offcut of MDF nearly three time the thickness of the original board, I used the original as a template and had it cut , by a good woodworker, as well as drilling out the holes for the springs to allow for adjustment.

The result is very acceptable but nowadays you might get more detail with a solid base having open sides so that the motor unit floats in free air and any vibration is not reflected by the box sides of the cabinet, or the base.

Yes the SME plinth is big but as I relised at the time, it was not built for people like me who lived in a modern commercially specified Rabbit Hutch! That was 1972 and Rabit Hutches have been getting smaller since then, unless you have been getting richer!

Mine still works, runs to speed and zeros in the centre of the knob. I play my 45's, from my YOUF on the second arm, a Sugden SAU2 and using an SME 3009S2 for my 78's, which provides much of the decent music from the past of the gramophone era.
There was more rumble acustically transferred onto the master dics of the time, by the cutting lathes, rather than the 401 in my opinion!
In the last ten years I have taken advantage of my former employer (BBC)who, having made so much plant redundant, made some very nice EMT 948's available publicly. Thus I have been able to get the best of both worlds. The 401, however is still capable of providing excellent results and with the choice of so many cartridges and stylus shapes you can get hours of pleasure and if you wish a good return on your money when you finish with it and want to sell.
The SME plinth system will, I believe, sell for a reasonable sum on its own though not perhaps larger amounts of some modern built plinths.
I sit back and enjoy mine!
Mike

[Beobloke]

I tend to agree with the opinion that the SME Plinth is an imprssive thing and a suitable period addition to a 401 if you're using it as a second deck or just as a nice to look at item of history.

However, if you want to get the very best performance out of the 401, then a solid layered marine ply or slate plinth is the way to go IMHO.

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

... If i had a 401, I'd probably laminate layers of ply and rubber ...

I would be tempted to try layers of plywood and lead sheet. The latter has a good deadening effect and can add enough weight that the whole lot doesn't go anywhere if the stand is bumped.

Cheers,

GJ

[captainpugwash]

Good morning,

Sorry for the belated reply. Thank you all for your thoughts.

The previous 401 turntables have always been mounted in solid plinths but I am encouraged to try the SME plinth to see and hear what it is like.

I have dug out the plinth and the mounting board has been hacked a bit,the original obround slot is there but someone has decided to cut another one at 90 degrees to that. I say cut but really mean a neater job could have been achieved using dynamite.

I am not sure whether to cut another board or locally increase the thickness of the board which would obviate using the P1 spacer.

Anyway,food for thought and in the meantime I need to get rid of some furniture to make space for it.

Thanks again and kind regards,

David

[Marconi_MPT4]

Seeing OP, I had a quick rummage and found the SME price list c.1970 for both 3009/3012 and Model 2000 plinth system. Estimating plinth cost at approx £45, today would be roughly £633 for TD125 options. Breakdown as follows.

Prices inclusive of UK Purchase Tax @ approximately 25%
Model 3009 with ultra-light Shell S2 £34.47
Model 3012 with ultra-light Shell S2 £36.71
S2 Ultra-light shell, boxed and mounting kit £2.74

The 2000 plinth system has to be built according to turntable used

Base Rosewood, Teak or Walnut £16.93
Motor Board Rosewood, Teak or Walnut £5.41
Acrylic Lid £10.76
Spring Mounts c/w foam dampening blocks, set of 4 £4.98
Hinge L/H and R/H (£2.55 each) £5.10

Accessories:
P.1 Spacer £1.03
Pick-up Mounting Board 3009 TD124/TD125/TD150 £3.58
Pick-up Mounting Board 3012 TD124/TD125/TD150 £4.36
Mounting brackets for TD125 £1.56

I have a copy of the instructions to set up SME 2000 plinth susspension level and damping if required. When set up correctly, external vibrations are not transmitted through and with a TD125 fitted, also with damped suspension, thumping the table has little or no effect.

Rich

[joebog1]

I made my own plinth for my 401. It's also pretty large (see pics).

It's a large piece of slate approx 50mm thick. It's HEAVY !!! with timber surrounds ( 32 mm X 130 mm New Guinea rosewood to please SWMBO)
it weighs in at around 40 kilograms.

I had made a previous plinth from solid timber, but it wasn't heavy enough to completely absorb the rumble. (yes it still rumbles almost inaudibly) I also made some "spikes" after reading about them in a current English audiophool magazine. I already had the nuts n bolts so only needed O spend $3.50 on four "T-nuts" to mount them. This saved me some 150 quid on the audiophool models, not to mention lots of postage to Australia.

Surprisingly these made a huge difference to the sound especially to the bass which was slightly boomy before I fitted the spikes.

I then made the new equipment stand from pallet wood (cheap n nasty pine) but was chunky enough to look the part. After the success with the turntable spikes I made a somewhat larger set to stand the whole caboodle off the concrete floor. I made and fitted the spikes when I built the stand and haven't removed them to make other checks.
These bolts are also my levelling system for the whole stand, the three fitted to the turntable for precise levelling. Turntable spikes ARE mounted to audiophool quality nickel bronze "pads" to prevent the spikes pushing through the very soft pine. These pads are also known as "20 cent pieces"

It's not as good a turntable as some of the more modern units I have owned in the past, but in my eyes it looks the part, rather than a direct drive unit weighing about 4 kilograms.

Anyway, my rave was just to say, "big is beautiful" especially if you have the room.

Joe