jnoyes
Super Member
Tonearm timing motor issues are very common on these, which means the failure of the automatic features. Very pretty but likely to end up with problems.
Jon
Vintage Turntable - Which are Relatively Safe Bets - Looking for Rec's
Tonearm timing motor issues are very common on these, which means the failure of the automatic features. Very pretty but likely to end up with problems.
Jon
couple of points
try 1st/2nd gen pioneer belt drives, made in the millions and your choice of automation
and then first couple of technics dd like 1301/1401/1701 etc but not the DJ 1200 which
are way over priced and often abused (thrown in the back of the pickup and has layered
coatings of Bud Light).
some of these are cheap. at least in the Bay Area - minute something doesn't look right
or breaks - its yours for a drive and $20. search thrifts, CL estate sales, and warehouses
of old electronics - golden age TTs were made in the millions and they're not all in landfills.
Sleepers include last generations of linear trackers, which are great due to lowered
mass of shortened tone arms, Pmount carts that are 1/4 the mass of a headshell
and normal cart. but no street cred only secret smiles. Pioneers are wonderful,
the tonearm up/down pulley stretches and guess what - the tone arm does not go
up or down. fix? small rubber band or official square belt...
and if you have cats, like jazz, single malts, dim lights, expensive carts, use automation -
nothing like snapping a cantilever when you're enjoying the finish of a 30/40 year old
Maccallan. although my now thrown-away Zero-100C used to auto-snap all cantilevers
I mounted - without Maccallan or XO cognacs.
try 1st/2nd gen pioneer belt drives, made in the millions and your choice of automation
and then first couple of technics dd like 1301/1401/1701 etc but not the DJ 1200 which
are way over priced and often abused (thrown in the back of the pickup and has layered
coatings of Bud Light).
some of these are cheap. at least in the Bay Area - minute something doesn't look right
or breaks - its yours for a drive and $20. search thrifts, CL estate sales, and warehouses
of old electronics - golden age TTs were made in the millions and they're not all in landfills.
Sleepers include last generations of linear trackers, which are great due to lowered
mass of shortened tone arms, Pmount carts that are 1/4 the mass of a headshell
and normal cart. but no street cred only secret smiles. Pioneers are wonderful,
the tonearm up/down pulley stretches and guess what - the tone arm does not go
up or down. fix? small rubber band or official square belt...
and if you have cats, like jazz, single malts, dim lights, expensive carts, use automation -
nothing like snapping a cantilever when you're enjoying the finish of a 30/40 year old
Maccallan. although my now thrown-away Zero-100C used to auto-snap all cantilevers
I mounted - without Maccallan or XO cognacs.
Balifly
Listening
There are some threads about the tone arm problem, but have not actually encounter any so far.
In any case, my Pioneer PL-550 is sufficient representation in that line up.
Interesting that there was no semi-auto unit exported.
Quick question for anyone with experience with the TD 160 Super -
The seller says the cue lever doesn't work and it looks like that is due to a cable not attached. He said there is a loose cable under the deck and thought that was probably the reason the cue doesn't work.
Is this a known issue? An easy fix ? Thx
You all gave me excellent info. I'm still working my way through all the replies, researching some of this equipment I'm not familiar with.
The seller says the cue lever doesn't work and it looks like that is due to a cable not attached. He said there is a loose cable under the deck and thought that was probably the reason the cue doesn't work.
Is this a known issue? An easy fix ? Thx
You all gave me excellent info. I'm still working my way through all the replies, researching some of this equipment I'm not familiar with.
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bang4buck
Super Member
Does it have a Thorens tonearm? If somebody mounted a different arm then usually it's not possible to keep the cable lift.
Most Supers came without a tonearm and thus wouldn't even have the cue lever.
So, IF the arm allows it and IF all the parts are still present and functional, then it's an easy fix. So easy that I would wonder why the seller hasn't done it.
Most Supers came without a tonearm and thus wouldn't even have the cue lever.
So, IF the arm allows it and IF all the parts are still present and functional, then it's an easy fix. So easy that I would wonder why the seller hasn't done it.
The seller did say that he had an aftermarket tone arm installed. In the sale the standard arm is what's included.
Does that sound like a potential disaster waiting to happen ? Thx
Does that sound like a potential disaster waiting to happen ? Thx
It sounds like why the cable isn't attached, though.
bang4buck
Super Member
That's a little odd. Compared to what's involved in swapping the arms in the first place, hooking that little cable back up takes a minute. Why wouldn't they do that?
Not saying it would be a deal breaker for me but I would want to hear the full story. Maybe the seller simply forgot, or it was too fiddly for them, but I find it more likely that a part is missing/broken.
Not saying it would be a deal breaker for me but I would want to hear the full story. Maybe the seller simply forgot, or it was too fiddly for them, but I find it more likely that a part is missing/broken.
jnoyes
Super Member
There are some threads about the tone arm problem, but have not actually encounter any so far.
In any case, my Pioneer PL-550 is sufficient representation in that line up.
Interesting that there was no semi-auto unit exported.
Yeah, and some of them started by me several years ago. I ultimately gave up on them. There is a guy on Ebay that offers a fix, but it ain't cheap!
Jon
Re: Thorens TD160 Super --
So the seller said the tonearm cue was not functioning when he bought it (cable was already loose). He said he dropped in a Jelco arm. For the sale the arms have been swapped back.
Does this sound like a normal/easy fix? Or should the loose cable and arm swapping raise some flags? thanks again!
So the seller said the tonearm cue was not functioning when he bought it (cable was already loose). He said he dropped in a Jelco arm. For the sale the arms have been swapped back.
Does this sound like a normal/easy fix? Or should the loose cable and arm swapping raise some flags? thanks again!
bang4buck
Super Member
See my posts #46 and 49 above. Once again, this is so easy to do when you're in there anyway that I suspect something might be broken or missing. I would budget for a replacement part just in case. They're still available on ebay but asking price is about $60 for the mechanism and $25 for the cable, plus shipping from Europe.
mh1947
Active Member
Yes, many of the TD-160 Supers came with a black plinth.
