Sumiko Rainier Cartridge

TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I don't pay a lot of attention to the vinyl "renaissance", but I do remember when it seems any tt sold at better than normal/reasonable prices.....but old (sometimes actually vintage) tts do seem to hold up.
The Garrard 301 was produced from 1954 to 1964, so I think that classifies as vintage.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The Garrard 301 was produced from 1954 to 1964, so I think that classifies as vintage.
Or perhaps just old :) Just never impressed in a good way by Garrard (but the 301 looks to be their better effort). Whether its vintage is how it compared to the others in that time period, which isn't saying a lot.
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
Curious what site/method did you use to sell your old tt? What was new $ on your old tt? I guess the demand has fallen again, maybe somewhat the covid impact?
I used FB Marketplace, local p/u only. I didn't want to ship it. Plus you keep 100% of the sale, of course. I was expecting more than what I got.
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
Funny thing is that I sold a 40+ year old DD Technics for $125 five years ago. With 2 headshells, both with super old carts.
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
Concerning the DD Technics and the rumble.... That is why I leaned toward belt drive. It was very likely because of the age, but I was way more comfortable going belt drive after that.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Concerning the DD Technics and the rumble.... That is why I leaned toward belt drive. It was very likely because of the age, but I was way more comfortable going belt drive after that.
Which Technics was that? I got my SL1200mk2 just due the poorer performance of belts....
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
I do not recall the model. Seems it might have been the SL-1200. But you said belts. So, not sure!
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I do not recall the model. Seems it might have been the SL-1200. But you said belts. So, not sure!
The 1200mk2 is of course one of the best dd drives out there, but what I meant was it was simply way better spec wise than any belt of its day....

ps and in many days since :)
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
Maybe mine needed only a minor adjustment. But i don't regret selling it since it was super old and not high-end like TLS's museum equipment.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Maybe mine needed only a minor adjustment. But i don't regret selling it since it was super old and not high-end like TLS's museum equipment.
What's the difference between your vinyl museum equipment and TLS'? If anything, he's probably got the advantage.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
The Garrard 301 was produced from 1954 to 1964, so I think that classifies as vintage.
I remember it. It took the world by storm. It was head and shoulders above anything else. It was the very first turntable to not have any audible rumble. The Thorens of the day, did have audible rumble.

The achievement of the first transcription turntable has to go to A.R. Sugden who produced the Connoisseur turntable. My father bought one for the OP, and I remember it well. You could just hear the rumble, and I remember you had to let it run for a while before it achieved speed stability. After my mother died I found that turntable clearing out the house.



The BBC bought a lot of these and it was their go to turntable for playing records on air, until the 301.

Garrard were the Queens jewellers. But from the earliest days of recordings at the beginning of the twentieth century, the family had an interest in sound reproduction.

They based their turntable business in Swindon Wiltshire. This was the town that was the base of Isombard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway. So they could hire and have the services of some of the best engineers in the world at the time. In Swindon they built and serviced the steam engines. This association continued right up to the development of the 301 which started after the introduction of the LP.

When the Garrard 301 appeared it swept all before it, and achieved immediate prominence. It was superior to any other at the time, and actually still remains superior to the majority. It was, and is, an outstanding engineering achievement.

So, I can understand why this turntable has become iconic. I acquired mine long before these turntables achieved their revered status in the history of audio.

Lastly I have to emphasise even at their age they give nothing up to the best of today.

This is an iconic picture, a Decca ffss PU head and arm, on a Garrard 301, connected to a Quad 22 tube preamp. That represents the best of over half a century ago.
You can also see a rare Auriol lift that I restored.



If you walked into this room with this playing and driving the system, you would have no idea that this was being driven by equipment over half a century old, and be absolutely flabbergasted when you found out.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I was referring to vinyl generally :) Your equipment is fine.
Sorry, I did not understand that. The place I was coming from was that people do not realize what was actually possible and achievable over half a century ago.

Then as now, the limitation was speakers. However if you had Quad ESLs, for instance, it would give most of what is available now a 'run for its money'. TDL speakers were phenomenal. The top of the scale KEFs were also a force to be reconed with.

In this day and age, we are up against audiophoolery in disc reproduction big time. They have numerous strongly held opinions about disc reproduction that are totally contrary to the physics of disc reproduction. Probably the stupidest is is the straight pickup arm, that massively increases tracking error and distortion. The blow hard pig ignorant know no bounds.
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
What do you think of this upgrade? Being thin plastic, the sub-platter that it came with weighs probably a few ounces. This one weighs 1.5 lbs. Substantially heavier. Looks like it is hard to find, but seems to sell for $159.
Here it is on Crutchfield, where you cannot buy it.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-9YexAKaEOnC/p_252SPUDBT/Pro-Ject-Debut-Alu-Sub-platter.html
Edit: the tt I got is the Evo and it already has an improved (main) platter. I should have weighed the difference before I sold the other unit.
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Spartan
Does a late 1990s model REGA planar 3 qualify as vintage? If so I'm in. :)
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Does a late 1990s model REGA planar 3 qualify as vintage? If so I'm in. :)
Probably not yet. The threshold is probably between 25 and 30 years. However there are other factors involved, like setting a new standard, first to introduce a change like the Thorens TD 150, the first to be belt drive. The problem with the Rega is that it was a number among many similar by their dates of production about 10 years ending in 2000. There are other intangibles as well. It just needs lots of people chasing too few, like all other issues of supply and demand.
 
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
My ProJect Debut Carbon EVO turntable costs about $600 on Crutchfield. I am not shopping, but I just noticed they have a PoJect X2B turntable for $1800. Better motor, better everything I imagine, except the cart! I find it interesting that they put the Sumiko Rainier cart on it. That is, if not the lowest on Sumiko's totem pole, it is about the lowest. They must have bought a million of them for a couple bucks each.

edit: same cart that comes on the Evo currently. But I removed that if you remember in place of a far better and longer lasting one.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top