My name is Dan Thomason. I was partly inspired by your forum to purchase my Garrard 401, and build a plinth for it. It has been through a series of iterations, mainly due to problems in achieving a high quality finish. The plinth is composed of six one inch MDF sections, clad with slabs of Purpleheart. Front face is 1" thick, top and sides are 3/8" thick. Each were fashioned from one inch thick boards. There are inserts on the face made of Australian Red Malloree Burl, (and some other wood I can't remember the name of), as is the tonearm board.

The finish is twelve coats of: first, Waterlox Tung Oil Sealer (only three coats of that, if I remember correctly), and then the twelve coats of Waterlox Gloss Tung Oil. Each coat requiring 24 hours of drying time.

There are four Edensound brass Bear Paw Footers weighing @6 lbs. each, resting on stainless steel washers inset into the bottom of the plinth. The 401 chassis has been powder coated black, a new faceplate put on, a TTW copper platter mat, and brass record weight.

Tonearm is a Dynavector 501, rewired and refurbished by myself. Main cartridge is a Zu Denon 103R with ESCCO white sapphire cantilever and Paratrace stylus. This 'table will remain as my analog source for the remainder of my days, and be passed on to one of my sons (TBD). To say I love how it sounds would be wildly understated.

As an afterthought, I thought I would mention I'd never made anything like this myself, so I had to buy the necessary tools, and teach myself to use them. Although I'd built my own home, I was unprepared for all that was to come, although I very much enjoyed the process. Wood is a forgiving material, if you don't like something, saw it off, and start over, which is exactly what I wound up doing, a couple times. I wound up giving up on Varathane and the like, and switched to tung oil, though a much longer process, the results were worth the effort. I found getting a decent finish the hardest part of the process by far, and I wound up doing the best I could with my limited experience. It will have to do.

As another afterthought, the system this resides in has custom Tannoy HPD 315 drivers converted to hard edge surrounds, massive nearly two inch thick MDF 150 liter bass-reflex enclosures (192 lbs.), custom DIY outboard crossovers, SET 300B amp, and DIY Class D. Just to put the 'table in context.

System: Custom built Tannoy HPD 315, converted to hard edge surrounds. 1 7/8" net MDF 192 lbs. each. Drivers made in 1974.
Crossovers: Custom designed for me by Dr. Arthur Loesch. Mundorf S-I-O caps, Alpha Core 12 gauge inductors, Dueland resistors. (DIY)
Esoteric
DV 60 DVD player
Arcam DV 139 universal player
Kit-built Class D Audio CA 254 amps, amp for Tannoys outfitted w/two modules in bridged mono, 500Wpc
Assemblage Audio SET 300B. This was originally a kit amp. I sent it to Sonic Frontiers (manufacturer) for new Jupiter caps and resistor upgrades. I bought EML XLS 300B output tubes, which were something I glad I did. I also built a Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid tube preamp to use when listening to the SET 300B and analog, so it's two systems in one you might say.
Modwright SWP 9.0 SE tube phono stage, upgraded power supply.
Assorted cabling, two sets 12 gauge Tempo Electric solid core silver in Teflon tubing, one set for each amp, used for main speakers (Tannoys). All other cables are mostly Synergistic Research.

Multi-channel system: KEF Q 100 center channel. Surrounds: KEF Q-15.2 (small stand-mount)
Primare SP 31 preamp-processor.
Subwoofers: One Tannoy 15i (15" passive driver), Crown 2002 XTi amp, bridged to mono (1650 Watts into 8ohms). One quasi-DIY sub, converted from 12" driver/15" passive radiator to 12" Eminence driver, plate amp, 2 three ports, passive radiator eliminated and covered, extra cabinet insulation added.

I started getting a lot more determined to build a system I could gladly retire with, so in 2008. I sold my Dynaudio Contour 5.4 speakers, ordered my 12" HPD's from Ebay UK, and built my speakers. I wanted to try tube amplifiers, and the Tannoys have given me that opportunity, and I'm glad I did. There is no equipment merry-go-round for me, it's just a matter of keeping what I have in working order, and enjoying myself while I'm at it.


Thank you, and best regards,
Dan Thomason
Whidbey Island Washington, USA