The hardware, linkages, fascia plates, platter mat etc. are all built to replicate those classic looks but utilising up to the minute modern engineering techniques. The platter is a brand new oversize ultra high mass 10 Kg platter from Precision Audio Components and is CNC machined from solid brass to very tight tolerances better than two thousandths of an inch. The finished platter is polished on the edges to give a superb mirror finish.
Solid brass is virtually free of any defects and thus perfect for a turntable platter. For reasons of cost (solid brass is extremely expensive and creates a lot of waste during machining) the original platter was cast aluminium and the casting process inevitably suffered from porosity and flaws within the casting these coupled with casting tolerances that can not easily produce a consistent thickness means the platter was not in balance which required the drilling of holes in the platter to try and balance it. The Precision Audio Components platter is as perfectly balanced as can be achieved with modern state of the art machinery and selection of the best material. This avoids the excessive vibration caused by a badly balanced rotating platter. Such a platter can cause unacceptable levels of noise and detrimental effects on sound quality. The extra diameter is 7mm over that of a standard platter and the upgraded platter has aproximateley 7kgs of extra mass, this greatly improves the platters inertia and results in added bass delivery, stability of imaging etc. basically it has so much energy in rotation that it takes a lot to stop it spinning. The theory has been well employed over several years and oversize platters have been used by the likes of Shindo for his 301.
Also included in the Reference model is the Precision Audio Components upgraded solid brass grease bearing. The bearing is massively oversized to support the massive brass platter and add mechanical stability over the original bearing thus bringing about an improved sense of grip and control to the music and further reducing the noise platform but without loosing the hallmark Garrard sound. The bearing is fitted with two precision-machined bushes and the spindle runs on a phosphor bronze thrus pad for the ultimate in close tolerance low friction contact. The sound of the Classic 301 Studio Reference builds on the strengths that give that Garrard its signature sound. The Classic HiFi (Garrard) 301 transcription turntable is arguably the ultimate analog musical device. The solidity, presence, body, speed, dynamics, sound staging, noise floor and low-level detail retrieval of the Classic 301 transcription turntable is equal to or above what the super tables of today can muster. The Classic 301 Studio Reference is polished brass finish.
