Garrard Vs Dual Turntable - need advice

charanbee

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Greetings Vintage-audiophiles,

I came across some deals which seem pretty decent,
First one - not so interested
Philips vintage hi q international record player with three speed control

Second,
Garrard Zero 100 transcription automatic 2 speeds TT
seller claims he has upgraded the cartridge to a much better brand than the stock one

Also from the same seller,
Garrard 6300 TT with 4 speeds, automatic and manual operations

Third,
Dual 1216 Type-CS22 dual speed direct drive TT

All TTs seem to be in decent to good condition judging from pictures.

NOTE: the above players are from cities outside Chennai where i stay, so i will not get a chance to see them or test them in the flesh before buying.

Keeping all this mind, please suggest,
- which one of the above might be a good option
- what are the basic questions i need to ask the sellers in order to judge the condition of the players
- price recommendations?

Looking forward to your help. Thanks.
 
Hi, I grew up listening to a Garrard SP25 and have a bit of experience with Garrards. The Zero series was not exactly the best in the line from a performance perspective. Also, the fully automatic Garrards are not exactly cartridge and stylus friendly. Not a bad idea to give the Dual a look in. Also, avoid fully automatic turntables...manual ones should be first preference followed by semi-automatic (arm return only).
 
Greetings Vintage-audiophiles,

I came across some deals which seem pretty decent,
First one - not so interested
Philips vintage hi q international record player with three speed control

Second,
Garrard Zero 100 transcription automatic 2 speeds TT
seller claims he has upgraded the cartridge to a much better brand than the stock one

Also from the same seller,
Garrard 6300 TT with 4 speeds, automatic and manual operations

Third,
Dual 1216 Type-CS22 dual speed direct drive TT

All TTs seem to be in decent to good condition judging from pictures.

NOTE: the above players are from cities outside Chennai where i stay, so i will not get a chance to see them or test them in the flesh before buying.

Keeping all this mind, please suggest,
- which one of the above might be a good option
- what are the basic questions i need to ask the sellers in order to judge the condition of the players
- price recommendations?

Looking forward to your help. Thanks.

Hi,

Can you share cost?I think all of them should be available within 12k. avoid them and try finding Technics/Yamaha/ in this budget,they are easy to setup and better buy.

Regards,

Sachin
 
@ruebensm and @sachu888
Thanks for your replies.

What about the Garrard 6800? it is a more advanced version of the Zero 100 right?
Seller is quoting around 9 grand for the Garrard as well as the Dual 1216.

I have been looking around for a technics for quite a while now, no luck till now.
If anyone here does know places in chennai where i can get one please hook me up.

@ruebensm - any particular reason why you recommend avoiding fully automatic TTs? and also what is the difference between a fully automatic and a semi?
 
@ruebensm and @sachu888
Thanks for your replies.

What about the Garrard 6800? it is a more advanced version of the Zero 100 right?
Seller is quoting around 9 grand for the Garrard as well as the Dual 1216.

I have been looking around for a technics for quite a while now, no luck till now.
If anyone here does know places in chennai where i can get one please hook me up.

@ruebensm - any particular reason why you recommend avoiding fully automatic TTs? and also what is the difference between a fully automatic and a semi?

Hi,

Garrard tables are difficult to maintain for first time TT users.This is your first TT so it should be easy to setup and maintain, also both these players were more like consumer grade players.I have one entry level Technics and its far better than current entry level players and very easy to set up.I was offered one Yamaha Yp-211 by one of forum member, its a very good TT.I would have bought it but got a good deal of MIcro Seiki.The person who is selling this Yamaha has a very good knowledge and has a collection of good no of TTs.PM me for detail.

Regards,

Sachin

Regards,

Sachin
 
@ruebensm and @sachu888
Thanks for your replies.

What about the Garrard 6800? it is a more advanced version of the Zero 100 right?
Seller is quoting around 9 grand for the Garrard as well as the Dual 1216.

I have been looking around for a technics for quite a while now, no luck till now.
If anyone here does know places in chennai where i can get one please hook me up.

@ruebensm - any particular reason why you recommend avoiding fully automatic TTs? and also what is the difference between a fully automatic and a semi?


on second thoughts Charan, i'd say....avoid the dual as well. To be honest, the Garrards and Duals are rock solid and from a past generation. They also sound very musical but they are bugged with the common turntable problems:

1) transmission: garrards and duals used the old idler-wheel concept for engaging the turntable with the motor spindle. these idler wheels tend to wear off over a period of time, and if the turntable is not used, they tend to perish or become brittle. A faulty idler wheel can give you endless trouble with pitch and speed. spares are almost non-existant unless you pick them up from a guy who's dismantled some old stuff and put it up for sale

2) overall construction: these turntables were not built for audiophile listening. most of the old garrards and duals were built for casual listening. you will have problems with rumble and tracking (distortion and skipping)

Automatic turntables are hard on the stylus and cartridge. There is a lot of jerking when the arm is moving, also the stylus impact is generally heavy when it lands on the disk. Most automatic turntables (especially those of old) are mechanical monsters and can run up mechanical trouble, easily. An instance of mechanical trouble can result in a damaged record or damaged stylus, skipping and hopping of the arm, the arm not starting at the beginning of the record, the arm returning mid way through a record and so on...the key is, once the trouble starts, it tends to become a headache.

Technics is always a good bet, especially the direct drive models. However, with the return of vinyl to India, these turntables are in very high demand and are very hard to find.
 
Thanks a lot for the info guys, much needed for a newbie like myself. :)

I have been searching around for a Technics for quite some time as that was the first name i came across when this search began. I recently found out one of my friends had a National record player lying around... not sure wat type, semi-manual, speeds etc...

Are Nationals any good? I read online that National-Panasonic and Technics are from the same parent company.. (Matsushita i think)

I dont think its exactly "vintage" but is it still good? (im sure i can get it dirt cheap).
 
Thanks a lot for the info guys, much needed for a newbie like myself. :)

I have been searching around for a Technics for quite some time as that was the first name i came across when this search began. I recently found out one of my friends had a National record player lying around... not sure wat type, semi-manual, speeds etc...

Are Nationals any good? I read online that National-Panasonic and Technics are from the same parent company.. (Matsushita i think)

I dont think its exactly "vintage" but is it still good? (im sure i can get it dirt cheap).

Hi,

Please let us know the model no of TT.As far as I know Matashuta used Technics for higher end/separates components and National and Panasonic for consumer grade, and National Panasonic for their built in console/all in one players.I may be wrong here.

Regards,

Sachin
 
Alright guys, still dont have the model number but its definately a National record player. It has inbuilt speakers and im guessing a phono stage inbuilt as well.. and oh did I mention im getting it free of cost? :eek:hyeah:

So i can stretch my budget to get some good amps, speakers?
I know i dont have the model yet but any suggestions for suitable speakers for this kind of record player.. anything upto 10k is good. Thanks for the help till now...
 
National was famous for its portable record players with either built in speakers or detachable speakers (which doubled as the record player lid when not in use). You have reached the depths of the el cheapo world of audio here, however getting this for free can turn out to be a blessing in disguise here. You'll get to flavor the world of vinyl and you can take a more expensive dive, at a later point. They key here is to ensure that the arm is light weight and tracks properly, the needle is in good shape (likely to be a sapphire tip) and you play old records on it for a start. My 2 cents!
 
Alright guys, still dont have the model number but its definately a National record player. It has inbuilt speakers and im guessing a phono stage inbuilt as well.. and oh did I mention im getting it free of cost? :eek:hyeah:

So i can stretch my budget to get some good amps, speakers?
I know i dont have the model yet but any suggestions for suitable speakers for this kind of record player.. anything upto 10k is good. Thanks for the help till now...

HI,
As I have mentioned in my previous post,National record players were all in one type not good for hifi.IT is good as you are getting it FOC,but try not to play any expensive record on this.

Regards,
Sachin
 
the turntable is here! its a HMV fiesta popular. i have posted about it in a similar thread started by another member (quite recently). I would appreciate if all those who answered to my queries here shifted there and continued the discussion.

Thanks all!
 
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