Garrard 2025Tc Plinth Build

[aashish351]

Hi,

Sometime ago I made a wanted thread for a Turntable to start off my journey into vinyl. Luckily, I found a good condition Garrard 2025Tc with the immense help of forum member Lifewater, who was kind enough to inspect, dismantle, pack and send me the turntable. Of course having uprooted from a console system of the 60s, a plinth had to be made for it. Fortunately, the blueprints were also available with it.

I called upon the services of my very good friend and forum member Pranav Kumar (Acoustic Science) to get that done (he also made those very nice bookshelf speakers using my high quality focal ceiling drivers). Last weekend he delivered the finished turntable to me and I must say that the build is excellent. Here are some pictures.

The second part of my thread - understanding if an MM cartridge can be installed on the arm rather than the original ceramic one. Here are some close ups of the arm and cartridge.

Experts please advice.

 

[reubensm]

only one word to describe the plinth - Wow!!

this is the first time I've ever seen an old Garrard changer mounted on such a plinth. Great work indeed!!

seems like the TT is modded a bit, the record overarm seems to have been removed.

To answer your question about upgrading the ceramic cart, well unfortunately, your TT was designed to work with ceramic carts tracking at 5-7 grams. If you've noticed, your tonearm is not counter balanced with a counter balance weight. It should have a spring loading mechanism with some slots for changing the tonearm tracking force. You definitely will not be able to achieve the 1.5 or 2gms tracking weight for most magnetic carts. If you look under the tonearm pivot assembly, you are likely to find this longish spring running from the end of your tonearm to a few slots. Here is a picture of my Garrard RC210 tonearm spring loaded counterbalance assembly for your reference:

Did notice that there's this tonearm extension with a hole, presumably for a spring left un-used at the bottom end of your tonearm (see the pic below with the area circled in yellow). Check for this counter-balance spring, if you don't find it in place, then you're TT is probably missing it.

For the record, there are some of the older Shure magnetic carts which can track at heavier weights. These may be compatible with your TT but honestly, ceramic carts are the best bet with the existing tone arm.

If you are adventurous, you can probably add a tonearm pod with a second tonearm (a more modern one with a counter balance) and use a magnetic cart of your choice, kind of like the tonearm on the pod, at the back, in the picture:

 

[sachu888]

Hi Aashish,

TT looks superb with new plinth.Its a changer and made to work only with Ceramic cart and I would't advice putting another arm.Generally changers are not good for hifi listening, but Elac Miracord and Dual produced some of the best Changers.Few good Elac models are 10H/40h/50h/50HII/750H etc.They were better than Duals and comparable with Lenco.I myself was looking for Miracord,but they are very rare here and mostly available in Germany.Luckily one German Lenco Heaven member helped me to get a good deal on Lenco-L75.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[reubensm]

yes, given the circumstances, your existing ceramic cart is the best bet. However when it comes to TTs, there is no limit for one's imagination (and wallet). There are lots of opinions but what matters is what sounds good to your ears. Though ceramic cartridges definitely don't give you the bragging rights, if used with decent amplification, they can also let you enjoy the music. Use your current TT to familiarize yourself with the format and who knows, you may catch upgraditis, later.

However, for the record, back in the day, the founding fathers of the turntable mods movement mostly started using the humble Garrard SP25 (original mark-1), thats the reason why my dad actually bought the SP25 mk1.

 

[aashish351]

Well... bragging rights is not my interest... but getting a good feel of the vinyl sound definitely is. Right now I have heard this in two ways - 1) Using a DIY Phono preamp made from a ceramic input section of a very old Sansui integrated amp (this was done by Lifewater) and 2) recently I connected the turntable to the AVR RCA input and selected the stereo mode on it and what a surprise - no phono required. When I select direct mode I hear a sharp treble and weak sound with very low audible level. But with stereo mode it becomes like a normal source. I think the AVR has some processing on the analog inputs.

However, both options had their issues with respect to the sound i was hearing - which is the final result that matters. In 1) there is noticeable vocal distortion (screeching) but the instruments sound nice and the bass was full bodied and maybe a little exaggerated. In 2) Less vocal distortion, but still there, again instruments sound nice, but bass in this case was lean and weak, but it was not exaggerating and enveloping the midrange.

There is also a problem of difference in loudness level of left and right, with right being slightly louder resulting in a non-center imaging especially of vocals. Some times i hear a big shift and sometimes not much. I am not able to pinpoint the problem. It could the phono, because in the straight AVR connection i felt the problem is reduced. It could be records (all of them are 20 - 25 years old). It could also be the cartridge. But i have a spare cartridge which I tried and still the same problem.

The combination of all these observations was leading me to experiment with a different cartridge if possible. But, I guess I will have to look towards the upgrade route sooner than I anticipated. However, the most important outcome of all this effort done till now is that I have definitely gotten a feel of the vinyl sound and I can now somewhat relate to what the die-hard fans are fussing about . There is a natural timbre and coherence to the music and that is what I feel appeals to people. I am definitely sold - but I must admit - I can imagine it to be a time consuming hobby!

 

[lifewater]

Hi Aashish, no wonder you were missing from my radar for so long. Wonderful job done on the plinth even I could not fathom that such a beautiful plinth could be made. I am sure you are enjoying your LPs .

Best wishes and once again, a very good job done on the plinth.

Regards,

Lifewater

 

[aashish351]

Hi Aashish, no wonder you were missing from my radar for so long. Wonderful job done on the plinth even I could not fathom that such a beautiful plinth could be made. I am sure you are enjoying your LPs .

Best wishes and once again, a very good job done on the plinth.

Regards,

Lifewater

Thank you. I had to replicate the passion with which you helped me get this all the way from the tea gardens!

 

[Record Player]

Thats a lovely looking plinth Aashish.

Couple of questions:

1. I noticed that the TT springs placed on the plinth. So the TT is not screwed onto the Plinth?
2. Is underneath of the plinth is open? I noticed that on one of the pictures. Love to see some photos of underneath the plinth.
3. What wood has been used and has it been veneered?
4. Based on the photos looks like its placed on a slab of Marble?

Cheers,

RP

 

[aashish351]

My comments in red below:

Thats a lovely looking plinth Aashish.

Couple of questions:

1. I noticed that the TT springs placed on the plinth. So the TT is not screwed onto the Plinth? The TT springs are placed in 4 mm deep grooves in the plinth as per the suggested drawing of the plinth. There are screws which when tightened fix the TT on the plinth. This is suggested to be done only while transporting the TT. For playback the TT should only rest on the springs.
2. Is underneath of the plinth is open? I noticed that on one of the pictures. Love to see some photos of underneath the plinth. The 36mm thick plinth is cut out through and through. Then there are steel spacers to allow venting, screw movement, motor assembly followed by a 6mm solid ply bottom plate.
3. What wood has been used and has it been veneered? It is MDF finished with automobile grade spray paint.
4. Based on the photos looks like its placed on a slab of Marble? No no. just wood.

Cheers,

RP