Is it really the poor man's Garrard 301? The Garrard 4HF!!

[shafic]

Recently i got this TT along with large Qnty of LPs. The mechanism is working fine, the stylus and plinth are missing.
another DIY lined up.Is it worth the effort?. Experts pls advice.

 

[reubensm]

The Garrard 4HF and 5HF are quite popular as people think they are the true predecessor of the 301. The fact is that these turntables were designed for mono transcription use and hence will serve very well as mono turntables. The motor is not isolated or shielded and hence, rumble is a classic problem when used for stereophonic listening. I was about to buy a 4HF myself but was thankfully stopped in my tracks by Mr. Kuruvilla with his valuable advice. IMO, you could perhaps create an audiophile Mono turntable. Congrats on the acquisition as any vintage Garrard win is always special (and you got the records too).

 

[reubensm]

Just noticed, you've got a "punched" headshell which suggests it had a mono cart with a flip stylus. The flip lever used to project out of the front of the headshell (which is punched).

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Shafic,
I come across a lot of these Garrards with antique dealers. In my earlier days , i used to grab them but nowadays i passed them by as it is hard to get the correct ceramic cartridge. But I recently stumbled upon a Grundic Turntable in box packing . It worked all speeds perfectly. Last Sunday, Hon. Padmanabha Varma came to my house and was quite impressed by it's performance . I will post pic of this player as soon I take one

 

[shafic]

Shafic,
I come across a lot of these Garrards with antique dealers. In my earlier days , i used to grab them but nowadays i passed them by as it is hard to get the correct ceramic cartridge. But I recently stumbled upon a Grundic Turntable in box packing . It worked all speeds perfectly. Last Sunday, Hon. Padmanabha Varma came to my house and was quite impressed by it's performance . I will post pic of this player as soon I take one

Hi sir,
which is the correct cart n stylus for this player? I just checked it has a Classic 700 with stylus. I think it might have been modified to mag cart.I have still not played it due to my busy schedule.
I read some reviews that say this played is good for 78 rpm and mono records of the 60s.Is it true? I am listening mostly to Lps of 70s onwards and fond of Eng country music.My fav singers are Merle Haggard, Gordon Lightfoot, Conway Twitty etc. Also like R D Burman,Ilayaraja etc.
I don't have any 78 rpm collection.Is this player suitable for my taste?. Is it then worth keeping this TT and spending time and money on it?.Or should i let it go to some DIY enthusiast?.
Pls advice.
I have been quietly reading your experiences about TTs and you recently found that TT which gives music close to your heart.
I have been searching the music quality that has lingered in my mind from child hood.As far as speakers are concerned i have almost found my destination by getting Full Range spkrs after going through scores of speakers.
It is same with TTs.I keep collecting all sort of TTs to achieve my destination.
I am not as fortunate as you who have reached the pinnacle of TT world in India.But at least i have been lucky enough to experience some vintage beauties hyeah TTs).
Thanks for reading... patiently:lol:.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Shafic,
In my opinion, it is not worth spending your time and money on any such players if your taste of music is country. Country music should be played only on magnetic pick up players. You have collected some very good TTs like SL 1100 which if well restored, can help you achieve better listening pleasure. Regarding speakers, I have stuck to my KLH model 5 for the last several years and same reg my amp which is Prima Luna Prologue one

 

[reubensm]

Shafic,
In my opinion, it is not worth spending your time and money on any such players if your taste of music is country. Country music should be played only on magnetic pick up players. You have collected some very good TTs like SL 1100 which if well restored, can help you achieve better listening pleasure. Regarding speakers, I have stuck to my KLH model 5 for the last several years and same reg my amp which is Prima Luna Prologue one

My father always said (and so have quite a few Garrard fans) that the original Garrard SP25 MK1 is arguably the best Garrard outside the 301 and the 401. Many legendary audiophiles had their starts with this particular Garrard model. It had splendid build quality and was quite mature for a model which was pegged for middle level listening. I remember he purchased the original new deck when on a trip to the UK in the late 1960s and it served us brilliantly until my father's passing in 2009 even though he never got down to building a proper plinth for it (we had it in a teak wood cabinet). His phono set up was:

Garrard SP25 mk1 with Shure M75-6 running through a DIY preamp till 1984
The DIY preamp was replaced with the legendary NAD 1020A in 1984

There is a school of thought that the idler Garrard Zero is a better TT, however again it was hampered by poor build quality due to austerity measures on the cost of production front.

 

[shafic]

Shafic,
In my opinion, it is not worth spending your time and money on any such players if your taste of music is country. Country music should be played only on magnetic pick up players. You have collected some very good TTs like SL 1100 which if well restored, can help you achieve better listening pleasure. Regarding speakers, I have stuck to my KLH model 5 for the last several years and same reg my amp which is Prima Luna Prologue one

You are absolutely right.I salute your knowledge about TTs.The minute i heard that SL 1100 i realized it was most special among my collection.Even at high volume there is not even the slightest Woofer rumble in my test speaker, which i experienced for the first time.And the sound quality also very pleasant.Yesterday i got one unused Shure 95ED cart n stylus. Which cart is best suited for SL 1100?.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

The tone arm of SL1100 is a TPA arm which is very sensitive. It is the same arm used in original SL-1200. It can take any Shure cart but I cannot say which would be the best. I recently got a SL-150 without tone arm but there was an adaptor to fit SME tone arm in it provided by Technics. So the company expected buyers to fit SME arm for this player. I found the wow and flutter very low on this player and this player is manufactured by National Technics. I understand that only the very bestt products of Technics have that label. I am seriously considering to keep it in my collection along with my SL-1200 (1972model and SP-25

 

[sachu888]

SL-1100 tonearm has a medium mass arm.You can use Denon Dl-110/103(better if used with headshell weight) with good results.Shure M97xe and Ortofon Om series carts can also be used.


Regards,
Sachin

 

[shafic]

Many thanks, Kuruvilla and Sachin for your valuable suggestions!.