GT2101 — Interviews & Provenance

This document preserves the written record from galeaudio.com, including commentary from former Gale engineers, collectors, and enthusiasts.
All images, schematics, and adverts have been omitted for clarity — only verified historical and technical text remains.

A Revolution in Turntable Design

The audio world was turned upside down by the introduction of the Gale GT2101 turntable at Audio Fair, Olympia, London, in October 1974.
A number of industry icons were instantly dethroned.

It was lust at first sight for the entire audio world, and a Gale turntable on a magazine cover was commonplace — not bad considering they only made around sixty.

It’s hard to put into perspective the effect the GT2101 had on the staid audio world of the 1970s. Here was a turntable more modern than the Transcriptors and Michell decks, yet it outperformed the Linn/Ariston tables sonically — a direct-drive, non-resonant, advanced-suspension design floating on a magnetic bearing.

It appeared on the cover of Stereo Review (October 1975) and Playboy (April 1976), often pictured with an SME 3009 Type II tonearm.

Design & Production Credits

• Concept: Royal College of Art graduate Kenneth Freivokh, whose prototype styling set the aesthetic direction. Freivokh later became a world-renowned yacht designer.
• Industrial Design: David Carter, CBE (Design Consultants Associates – DCA)
• Engineering: Nigel Hobden
• Collaborators: Ira Gale and Dr. Sao Win, classmates from Harvey Mudd College.
  • Gale studied music at the Royal Academy of Music.
  • Win studied at Cambridge and helped co-develop the DC servo system.
  • They jointly held patents for the design.

The turntable was produced in very small numbers — approximately 60 to 200 units — at a cost of $1,975 USD (without tonearm).
It featured a separate stainless-steel motor pod, quartz-locked optical servo system, and a floating magnetic bearing.
Notable owners reportedly included J. Paul Getty, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, and Freddie Mercury.

Engineering Commentary

Paul Ramsden (DCA, colleague of Nigel Hobden):

“Nigel and I worked at DCA Design in Warwick, England. I was in the electronics group along with Steve Twitchet; Nigel managed the group.
Ira Gale came to DCA with the ‘look’ of the turntable already established but needing help with the electronics and mechanical engineering.
Most was done at DCA, though we brought in an outside consultant to stabilise the phase-locked loop (PLL) that locks the motor to the crystal oscillator.
Steve laid out the circular PCBs for the control tower by hand with red/green tape on mylar.
The motors came as finished Litton units — DCA didn’t handle internals.
Documentation stayed with Gale; schematics likely lost.
Repair will be hard due to obsolete components. A dedicated engineer could reverse-engineer the logic; chip data may be rare.”

Technical Highlights

• Dual-layer acrylic plinth connected by three tri-point suspension towers.
• Top tier: motor assembly, platter, and tonearm.
• Lower tier: chassis foundation.
• Motor: high-torque Inland brushless DC, with a Litton 600-line optical encoder and magnetic bearing using samarium-cobalt magnets.
• Controller: cylindrical stainless-steel housing with push-buttons and LED display.
• Variable speed 10 – 99.9 rpm, with quartz-locked 33.3 rpm mode.
• Claimed precision: speed monitored 600 times per revolution, correction via servo loop.
• Custom Plessey toroidal transformer and discrete transistor drive section.
• Rumble: effectively zero, no mechanical contact supporting platter weight.

Notes from Restoration Correspondence

Simon Y. (Gale Audio site moderator):

• Correct suspension foam supplied by C.B. Frost Ltd (Birmingham).
• Proper height: top acrylic plate should sit mid-point within the suspension tower.
• Bearing oil: watch-grade lubricant (formerly whale oil) recommended by the University of Leicester’s Department of Tribology; modern synthetic equivalent used.
• Production ceased when David White purchased Gale Electronics — the turntable project was discontinued despite internal objections.
• DCA documentation and drawings existed but were scattered after closure.

“Firsts” Claimed by Gale Electronics

• First all-acrylic and stainless-steel turntable.
• First with optical-servo speed control.
• First brushless direct-drive with floating magnetic bearing.
• First minimalist tri-suspension chassis.

Contemporary Recollections

Marc S. (2011):

“I saw one for sale in California around 1982 – 83 for $1600. The shop is long gone.”

Darucla (2011):

“I sold two in London. After Thorn closed our shop, the last one went to my friend Steve Grant (of The Animals) for about £250.”

Vincent Aruofor (2012):

“We sold the turntable and speakers in Lagos, Nigeria in the ‘70s. Hard to believe only 60 were made!”

Huub (2012):

“John Daly at DCA confirmed their only GT2101 was sold after the Hi-Fi News review. By 2006, one in France fetched €2700 on eBay.”

Michael Fremer (2012):

“A reader brought one with a Magnepan arm and Koetsu Black. After setup, it sounded smooth and pleasing — not a Continuum Caliburn, but quite fine!
Foam inserts intact. I’d replace the arm and polish the acrylic. Thanks for your site — very helpful.”

Ron Nortrup (2012):

“Been fascinated by it for 37 years! Would be thrilled even to see one in person.”

Kavi Alexander (2012):

“Friend Sven-Eric Borja had one in the ‘70s. When ‘high end’ was spinning on rubber bands, there was the Gale — advanced and beautiful.
Gale → EMT → Paragon → Electro Research A75 → stacked Quads = heaven.”

Adrian Newitt (2014):

“I wrote the Hi-Fi News & Record Review article. I borrowed DCA’s turntable at the time — not sure where it went later.
I worked at DCA and knew editor Steve Harris. Pity you didn’t track me down sooner.”

Robyatt (2014):

“I own Sao Win’s personal turntable and have the emails from him to prove it.”

Emmaco (site owner, 2016):

“I spoke with Dr. Win recently. He’s retired, living in the Santa Barbara area, and still passionate about music and education.”

Archival Summary

By all accounts, the Gale GT2101 was decades ahead of its time — a design that combined bold visual architecture with precision motor engineering.
It remains one of the most distinctive and technically ambitious British turntables ever built,
and the content below ensures that its story, contributors, and technical origins are preserved for future reference.

This document is an unaltered historical record reconstructed from galeaudio.com (2011 – 2016).
Text retained in its original tone and structure wherever possible.