The original 301 Transcription Turntable was made by the Garrard Engineering and Manufacturing Company in England beginning in 1954. The turntable chassis and platter were cast from aluminum and were usually sold without a plinth, with the chassis on later models painted creme white. The 301 was known for its beautiful build and idler wheel drive, powered by a robust, high-torque 4-pole Garrard Induction motor. The idler wheel would drive the platter directly from inside the rim.
When Garrard was purchased by SME in 2018, the fundamental aim was to maintain the sonic qualities that Garrards were known for—dynamic and transient power, bass response, and vocal and midrange clarity—while improving upon various aspects of build that would improve sound quality. In all, no stone is left unturned.
A new formulation rubber idler wheel and a much more precise wheel bearing has been implemented to address drive noise. Every chassis is completely stripped and the main platter bearing, linkage, motor springs, brake pad, suppression capacitor, wiring harness, chassis faceplates, chassis-to-motor board mounting bolts, rubber mat, and more are all replaced with newly created items. Even the chassis rivets are re-created using a special mix of copper and brass, while the chassis itself has been blasted and re-painted in a new acrylic paint and all metal linkages stripped and re-plated. In total, up to 90% of the original turntable is “remanufactured” or replaced to preserve the design and function of the original with parts that are much more accurately produced. Precision is, after all, the heart of what it takes to make the very best analog systems.
A new plinth is then created from an advanced, non-resonant polymer or built out of classic and traditional walnut. These plinths do not simply have a hole cut in the middle where the 301 chassis is dropped in; rather they are precision machined and acoustically tuned to avoid resonances and, again, improve sonics by reducing noise and improving stability. The unique plinth of the 301 Advanced is available in any RAL color choice, making it a truly bespoke and original piece of audio art that can be unique and one-of-a-kind.
Lastly, the tonearm is fitted to the machine. 301 Classics are equipped with the traditional J-shaped SME M2-12R tonearm, as is the 301 Advanced M2-12R. A special version of the 301 Advanced is also available with a tonearm built specifically for the 301 Advanced, the Series VA-12, not available anywhere else, not even on SME’s flagship Model 60. The VA-12 is a special, hyper-modified and reengineered version of the 9” Series VA featuring a 12” arm shaft precision machined from an exclusive non-resonant resin that is both highly dense and highly rigid, making it acoustically inert.
