Thorens TD-145...........

[MX117.MC7150]

...... am wondering how good the arm is on the TD-145? Worthy of a good LOMC (up to $2000)?

Is there a thread somewhere on 'hot-rodding' the Thorens suspension?

Also, where does one find additional headshells?

Thanks.

 

[NJNeal]

Okay, I'll chime in.
The 145 is the auto version of the more ubiquitous TD160, in that it lifts the arm and shuts the table off at the end of the record.
Any searches for "TD-160 tuneup" or suspension or setup or mods will give you lots to read. There are several TD160 suspension articles that are 100% applicable to your table.
The TP-16 arm is considered by some to be worthy of some tweaking to make it better. In totally stock shape with unknown maintenance in the last 30 years, it's hard to say that putting a high end cartridge on it makes sense. And, if you really look into cartridge matching for this arm (Lots has been written on this subject) you'll find that really high end cartridges often don't match up to well to the TP16. I won't waste a lot of space explaining why, the research and writing are out there. The headshell is a TP-60, and these are available from the auction site and also from online stores. In good shape they now bring around $100 or so.

I ask myself the same questions as you're asking about how to max out my TD-160, which is in fine tune. At the end of the day, I cannot justify a really big budget cart on this table because the technology has gotten to the place that modern $1500-$2000 tables kinda blow it away.

Don't get me wrong. I love my TD160, but kinda think I'm getting 99% of the music out of it with a relatively inexpensive DL110 HOMC cart. YMMV.

 

[moinau]

I've a couple of 145MKI. The TP-16 is an excellent arm, underrated by lots of people. Different cartridges will go very well with this arm, MM, MI, HOMC, and some LOMC.

But, fitting a LOMC of around 2,000.00$ on this table/arm combination, will be in my opinion, a mismatch. I can see the 121, 134, 135, and the more famous 124 being worthy of cartridges of that prices, providing you also have an arm worthy of this cartridge.

Finding other head-shells (TP-60) is sometime hard. You will have better luck on French, English, Swiss, or/and German eBay. Be ready for a hefty price.