Garrard 810 (1963–65)
A compact idler-wheel changer that shared more with Garrard's flagship Lab 80 than its price suggested.
Overview
The Garrard 810 is a 10.5-inch platter automatic changer from the early 1960s, built in the shadow of the company's Lab 80. It's a modest machine by the standards of the day. No strobe, no variable pitch, just the essentials done properly. Collectors like the family resemblance: owners report it uses the same "M" series cartridge as the Lab 80, so this budget-oriented changer borrowed directly from the top of the line.
Listed as an RCA "New Orthophonic" era changer, the 810 dates to 1963-65 per available documentation, with radiomuseum.org confirming 1963. It's a record changer first and a turntable second. It stacked a pile of LPs and played them through without complaint. At 15.5 x 12.5 inches, it fits the compact consoles and stereo cabinets of the period, where it spent most of its working life hidden behind a lid.
The 810 isn't a high-end statement piece. It's a workhorse, honest and straightforward, and people who actually use vintage changers rather than just display them appreciate it more and more. The idler-wheel drive and induction motor give it a sound that belt-drive purists never quite understand.
Key Features
Idler Wheel Drive with 4-Pole Induction Motor
The 810 uses an idler wheel drive system, where a rubber wheel transmits motion from the motor to the platter's inner rim. It's an older approach than belt drive, and it has a slight rumble to go with it. The 4-pole induction motor is simple and reliable, the kind of engineering that keeps running for decades with minimal attention. Measured rumble comes in at -35dB and wow and flutter at 0.25%. Those figures won't embarrass the machine, but they won't impress anyone who's heard a good direct-drive deck either. What the 810 lacks in ultimate fidelity, it makes up for in torque and consistency. The platter gets up to speed quickly and stays there, which is what you want from a changer expected to handle a stack of records.
33 1/3 and 45 rpm Speeds
The 810 skips 78 rpm. By 1963, the format was on its way out for most consumers, and Garrard clearly decided it wasn't worth the extra mechanism. If you want to spin shellac, that's a limitation to know before you buy. The two speeds that remain, 33 1/3 and 45, cover the vast majority of what most people actually played, and the speed change mechanism is straightforward and positive in operation.
Metal Tonearm with "M" Series Cartridge Compatibility
The tonearm is metal, period-appropriate construction that tracks records with the firmness of the era. The cartridge compatibility is the more interesting part: the 810 uses the same "M" series cartridge as the Lab 80. That matters if you own both machines or are looking for replacement cartridges today. The "M" series was Garrard's own magnetic cartridge line, and being able to swap between the 810 and the Lab 80 simplifies life for collectors who run both. Owners note this as a positive. The budget changer got the same pickup quality as the flagship, at least at the cartridge end of the chain.
No Strobe — A Period-Accurate Omission
The 810 has no strobe. For anyone used to direct-drive turntables and quartz lock, that looks like a glaring absence. But in 1963, strobes were a luxury feature found on higher-end decks. The induction motor's synchronous-ish behavior at the speeds it does support is adequate for casual listening. If you need pitch-perfect speed stability, this isn't the machine for you.
Historical Context
The 810 sits in Garrard's lineup during a transitional period for the company. The Lab 80, introduced around the same time, was the flagship, an automatic turntable with a sophisticated mechanism that set the standard for the era. The 810, by contrast, was aimed at the middle of the market, offering the convenience of a changer without the premium price of the top model. The shared "M" series cartridge suggests Garrard was consolidating parts across the range, a sensible engineering and manufacturing decision that also gave budget buyers a taste of what the flagship offered.
Radiomuseum.org lists the 810 as an RCA "New Orthophonic" era changer, which places it in the early stereo period. Stereo records were becoming the norm, and changers like the 810 were how most people listened to them, stacked four or five high and dropping down in sequence, with all the mechanical clatter that entailed. Audio (June 1972, p.47) would later list the 810 at $149.50 with wow of 0.06, flutter of 0.06, and rumble of -44 dB. Those figures appear to come from a later revision or a different measurement standard than the vinylengine.com specs, so the two sets don't agree.
By the mid-1960s, the idler-wheel changer was already facing competition from belt-drive designs, and Garrard itself would eventually move in that direction. The 810 is the mature form of the idler-wheel changer: refined, reliable, and built to a price without being cheap about it.
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