This is all we want to do. But perfectly.
The engineering of high-fidelity turntables is a technical and controversial subject.
But the concept of a perfect turntable is perfectly simple.
Since a perfect turntable is what we at Garrard have been striving to make, we'd like to communicate this concept to you as unequivocally as possible. Then all the claims and counterclaims you hear will fall into place.
Think of it this way:
A phonograph record doesn't know and doesn't care what kind of mechanism is spinning it, as long as it's spinning properly. If your hand could turn it at exactly 33 1/3 RPM, without the slightest fluctuations in speed, and keep it moving in the horizontal plane only, without the slightest jiggling or vibrations up-and-down or sideways, you could expect perfect reproduction.
Similarly, a phono cartridge has no idea what's holding it in the groove, as long as it's properly held.
If your other hand were holding it, correctly aligned, with the right amount of downward force and with out resisting its movement across the record, it would perform faultlessly.
That's really all there is to it.
The basic point is that the turntable and tonearm have exceedingly simple and purely mechanical functions, just like a chemist's analytical balance or a gyroscope. That's why turntable manufacturing is, above all, a matter of precision and integrity, with the emphasis on perfect operation rather than hi-fi pizzazz or features for features' sake.
Of course, theoretical perfection in an actual mechanical device is an unrealizable ideal. But even though 100% is impossible, there's a big difference between 99.9% and 98%.
It's in this most fundamental sense, we feel, that Garrard turntables are in a class by themselves.
For example, in the case of the Zero 100c changer and the Zero 100SB single-play automatic, tracking error has been reduced to a virtually unmeasurable quantity (in effect, zero) by the geometry of the tonearm design. Rumble, wow and flutter figures are also coming ever closer to theoretical perfection in these and other top Garrard models. (The Zero 100c and the Zero 100SB are both priced at $209.95.) To a less spectacular degree, the lower-priced models, from $49.95 up, also come quite close to the theoretical ideal because of this emphasis on fundamentals.
Remember: all we want is to make your record revolve perfectly and to position your phono cartridge perfectly.
And we're almost there.
For your free copy of The Garrard Guide, a 16-page full-color reference booklet, write to Garrard, Dept. G-I, 100 Commercial Street, Plainview, N.Y 11803.
Division of Plessey Consumer Products.
(Audio magazine, Jan. 1975 )
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Also see:
Garrard GT55 turntable (Dec. 1976)