Straight talk about direct drive
The DD75 is our first direct drive turntable. It reflects a lot of what we've learned in half a century of building quality turntables.
The heart of any direct drive turntable is the motor.
Since it is in direct contact with the platter, it must be as steady--and as free from vibration--as a pacemaker.
The performance of the motor is measured by these specifications: rumble, wow and flutter.
But without a lightweight tonearm, unrestrained by friction, the best motor can't deliver high quality, high fidelity sound. After all, the only thing that moves the tonearm is the minuscule stylus tracing the record groove. If the tonearm is heavy, or drags, the sound will be distorted. The specifications which determine tonearm performance--mass and friction--are as important as rumble, wow and flutter.
Direct drive turntables can be manual or automatic.
The difference has a direct bearing on record safety. With a manual turntable, you risk scarring your records or damaging your stylus, particularly when lifting the arm off the record. That's because the human hand can't al ways be steady and accurate. The risk is minimized with a system that lifts the arm precisely, automatically.
Motor. Tonearm. Record protection. Convenience. These essentials directed the design of the new direct drive DD75.
The appearance of the Garrard DD75 fully complements its performance. It is mounted in a base of genuine teak veneer, with shock -absorbent feet to insulate the turntable from external vibration. The tinted dust cover has special friction hinges: it stays where you raise it.
Garrard's first direct drive turntable yields some very direct benefits. Not the least of which is the price: a straight and sensible figure--under $230.
For an illustrated, detailed folder on the DD75, please write: Garrard Division, Plessey Consumer Products, 100 Commercial Street, Plainview, N.Y. 11803.
--The Garrard DD75 delivers rock-steady speed with a DC motor, governed by an
electronic servo system. It is to tally immune to fluctuations in house hold
current. The specifications are impressive: rumble -70dB (Din B), wow and flutter
0.03%. The same electronic system provides variable speed control, ±3%, monitored
by an easily-read, illuminated strobe.
--Unlike the tonearm in most direct drive turntables, the slender arm of the DD75 is extremely low in mass-just 16 grams. It rides effortlessly on jewel bearings, with friction so low that it will track the finest cartridges at their minimum rated stylus pressure.
--In addition to fully damped cueing, the DD75 automatically lifts its tonearm and shuts off the motor at the end of play. This is done non-mechanically by a reliable photo-electric circuit. You ever have to leap across the room to stop playing the lead -out groove. You can even use this system in mid-record, by lightly touching the Stop button. Play can be resumed at the precise point where it was interrupted.
Garrard--Turntable specialist for 50 years.
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(High Fidelity, Apr. 1977)
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