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Thorens TD 165 vs Pioneer PL 41

eaglesfan723

eaglesfan723

McIntosh Convert
Hello forum members,

I have way too many turntables and want to part ways with one. Just looking for opinions or thoughts on which one to keep both sound excellent and are in superb shape.

Thorens TD-165

Pioneer PL-41

Thanks in Advance!
 
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I have a TD-160 and a PL-50. The Thorens sounds quite a bit better than the Pioneer. I have tried the same carts on both and the 160 wins every time. I have restored and modified the 160 and it does require proper set up to get the best performance. It is well worth the effort. If I had to choose, it would be the Thorens. Fortunately, I can keep both.
 
both good turntables......the PL-41 flies under a lot of radars(see comments above). If you have to part with one, and find both sound fine to YOUR ears, you can likely get more for the Thorens. If you wish to part with the PL-41, I'll be watching BT!!!
 
I had a Thorens, and i like the PL-41 more. Thorens is no longer in my system. Guess im the minority here.
 
I think the majority of people will jump to the Thorens based on name alone. Don't get me wrong, Thorens makes a great turntable, but Pioneer certainly had their fair share of the market for a reason. Maybe it's just that Pioneer is considered more consumer-grade, I don't know.

Anyway, since both are in the great shape, I'd just do a head to head, swap carts, and do it again. If all things are equal, I'd go with the above advice and sell the TT that's going to return the most to your pocket. More money for records!
 
Metalownz said:
I had a Thorens, and i like the PL-41 more. Thorens is no longer in my system. Guess im the minority here.
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Maybe, but I had a Thorens TD-145 and a Pioneer PL-41. I still have the PL-41 because I like it better. The only Thorens I would take over the PL-41 is the TD-124 or the TD-125.
 
MWalt said:
Maybe, but I had a Thorens TD-145 and a Pioneer PL-41. I still have the PL-41 because I like it better. The only Thorens I would take over the PL-41 is the TD-124 or the TD-125.
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:thmbsp: The PL-41 to me was just more musical.
 
eaglesfan723 said:
Hello forum members,

I have way too many turntables and want to part ways with one. Just looking for opinions or thoughts on which one to keep both sound excellent and are in superb shape.

Thorens TD-165

Pioneer PL-41

Thanks in Advance!
Click to expand...

Sound-wise, do you have a preference?

Are there other issues:

Floor (the Thorens MAY be more sensitive to skipping on some floors)?

Arm/cartridge compatibility?

Ego (the Thorens is generally recognized as more of an 'audiophile' table)?

I agree that the Thorens will bring more dollars in so IF everything else is truly equal to your ears, might as well sell the Thorens.
 
tnsilver said:
A correctly tuned up Thorens TD-14X/15X/16X has a real superb output IMHO. Sure - it's a voodoo ritual getting the suspension aligned and setting the tonearm geometry right is no walk in the park. It also seems to inherently dislike floor boards - despite it's boingy bouncy smart ass belly. However, once you get it right, and you got the hang of fiddling around with it, there's really no question about who's a keeper.

Cheers

Tom
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See and i disagree with who would be the keeper. The Thorens to me (set up correctly) sounded weak compared to my PL-41. The Thorens is a great table no doubt, but i believe it can be bested. The Pioneer PL-41 was less clinical sounding, more musical to my ears.
 
tnsilver said:
Sorry. Never heard of a clinical TD before. Thorens TD's are famous/notorious (depends on who you ask) for their 'charisma', 'rhythmics', 'dominance' and whatever charming superlative that describes their tendency to colorize the source. For the good (mostly) or for the bad, the one thing a Thorens TD is not - is 'clinical'. Are you sure it's set up correctly?
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100% positive. To my ears its clinical. Setting up a turntable is the easist thing in the world when you know how to do it. Too bad you couldnt borrow my ears to hear it. Ill take the nice warmth sound of the PL-41 every day of the week. Different strokes i guess.
 
As someone who has a PL-41 and a TD 124 ,with a very nice arm and cartridge the PL-41 is not in the same zip code, how ever the PL -41 is a very decent table and I would guess the Thorens TD 160 or 165 and the Pioneer would sound more alike than different with the same cartridge. Those of you that have no experience with the PL-41 should not jump to conclusions.
 
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