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(On virtually every old 301 I've seen, this element has been in such poor condition that the original intent is hard to divine.)Īs on the originals, the wiring housing that's bolted to the motor—within are the links that allow switching between 120V and 240V operation—was made of Bakelite: God's own favorite thermoplastic. (Upon disassembly for servicing, the original rivets must be drilled out.) The motor unit's below-deck switch wiring was isolated from the underside of the chassis by a purpose-made spring. Although SME claims that the motors in all of their new 301s have been rebuilt to original specs—the motor in my review sample appeared even stronger than that in my own Garrard, so I'm certain that's true—I was surprised to see that the retainer plate for the motor's lower bearing was reinstalled with rivets rather than by tapping the housing for a new set of miniature bolts. With the new motor unit freed from its surroundings, I noted a number of details of interest to hardcore 301 fanatics and restorers. Perhaps SME feels there's a sonic advantage to doing things their way.

I was mildly surprised not to see threaded inserts embedded in the plinth—such as I would have built into the homemade plinth for my own 301, had I the means (not to mention the skill) to lay them out with the requisite precision. I wasn't surprised to note that those nuts were scarcely more than finger tight, given my own observations that the 301 sounds much better when those and other of its fasteners are not over-torqued. The 301 fastens to the plinth with four bolts that pass down through its cast-aluminum chassis the chassis is isolated from the plinth with thick, pliant washers, both above and below the wooden slab—here is the explanation why, in all the photos we've seen of the new 301, there appears to be a slight gap between the motor unit and the top surface of the plinth—and the bolts are secured from beneath with thicker-than-average nuts, just as I've seen on most original Garrards.