Garrard 60 MkII good or not?

[sco1t]

Hi people, just wondered if a Garrard 60 MkII is a good record player or not? It has a Shure M97x cartridge...

[sreten]

Hi,

It really depends on what your quality expectations are and its condition.

As an autostacker, some would use for singles, others for 78's.

Its really not suitable for your main turntable, lots of other better options.

rgds, sreten.

[sco1t]

Hi Sreten,
it's still like new.
so it would be better to get a better player for high quality?

Thanks for the reply

[sreten]

Hi,

Again its all relative. Cheap AV system with a phono input and cheap
records from charity shop why not ? Decent records and a decent
system its not really up to the job IMO, but it will be OK.

Its much better for a hifi fan as a 78 player, and if its in great
condition even more so for that purpose for an audiophile.

Its probably not that bad, but in very good condition its
worth a lot more to the particular than the average man.

rgds, sreten.

[sco1t]

ok thanks for the Advice

[Nanook]

A Lab 60 (I'm assuming that's what you have) is quite nice once you remove all of the changer/stacker hardware. Get rid of the tonearm as well. Something similar to try is the old Dual 10XX or 12XX series (again gutted).

Once all the mechanical stuff is removed, the major source for poor sound is removed (springs, excessive mechanical bits, etc.).

I've converted a few of the Duals and they are very good once stripped. I'm working on a Lab 60 as proof of concept and have a Lab 80 that will get converted once I get a feel for what is going on with the '80.

[sco1t]

Hi, should I upload a song from it to see if people think it sounds good or rubbish? lol
It seems to distort when singers hit a really high note :S unless that's just how records are? that distortion is also a little more from the right speaker then the left..
I've adjusted the tracking to 2 grams seems to be best.

[indianajo]

Definitely salvage the M97 cartridge. I have one, era IV, love it, and probably have played thousands of sides with it over the 33 years I've owned it. No surface damage @ 1.5 g.
I noticed as a kid in 1966, the Gerrards the city library had, rumbled. I don't know what model. My best friend had a Gerrard he bought in 1968, it rumbled. He gave it to me, still does. I bought a 1961 build AR turntable in 1970 with my tube amp. It didn't rumble, but bounced on the record when I walked across the floor. Nor did it shut itself off or lift the tonearm. I put a Grado FTE cartridge on it in 1972? it sounded pretty good at 1.5 g. I'm now using a $69 BIC 940 changer I got on closeout about 1979, with the M97. It doesn't rumble or have any bad habits except I had to put a washer under one side of the cartridge to get it square to the record. The BIC has a changer and auto shutoff, no problem. I sold off my AR turntable in 1981, and never looked back. So much for legends.

[Nanook]

A couple of things:

• as indianajoe points out Garrardsrumble (well most idlers do...)
• suspended decks often don't isolate well from foorfalls
• using a shim of some sort can help with azimuth of a carttridge

If your records are in good shape there should be no sibilance. Is the stylus clean? The records? Look at the idler wheel, take it off of its spindle, clean it and relube the bushing, then re-install.

The only way to reduce the rumble AFAIK, is to remove as much mechanical stuff as possible. The Shure M97x or a variant is still available and new stylus should still be available for yours. Also consider a better constructed plinth.

[sreten]

Hi,

If it is in "as new" condition stripping it is a bad idea, somebody
will want it in original condition. The rumble (if it does) is due
to the main bearing arrangement around the centre spindle.
Less of a problem with mono records and mono wired cartridge.

Sibilance may mean the stylus is worn out, or defective,
or not properly aligned, incorrect tracking force or bias etc.

rgds, sreten.