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Thorens TD145 MkII Project

No matter how many clamps you have, it’s not enough!

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Here we have it all filled up with sand, this was a fun process, I have sand everywhere in the shop now!

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Here we are all glued up, smoothed over, and waiting for veneer.

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Here is where we are tonight, corner blocks are glued in and the Quilted Maple veneer is applied, I will try to start sanding and applying the finish this weekend.

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That is extraordinary! Nice work. I can't wait to see what it all looks like and most importantly sounds like. You make it look so very easy.
I want onnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeee.... whaaaaahhhhh :tears:
 
Great to see your continuation of the 145 MKII project. :thmbsp:
The sand filled plinth turned out sweet looking. Did you come to any conclusions
regarding sand filled /versus having the table resting on a bed of sand.
Perhaps the benefits of each are not quite the same?
 
WOW, that is really nice Mel. I am continualy in awe of your woodworking abilities. Now that table will look as nice as it sounds...:thmbsp:
 
Here is the completed plinth project, the new plinth added a little over ten pounds to the total weight of the TT, when you tap on the side it sounds like you are tapping on a rock.
I will get it wired up and give you some impressions after I spin a couple of albums on her! :music:

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On my TD 166 .....

On my TD166, the best things I did were:
1) remove the crappy particle board bottom plate
2) put the dynamat damping material on the main floating plate (where the main bearing is mounted)
3) do the bearing clean and re-oil maintenance

I also did the standard spring foam removal and a good setup of the bounce etc.

These three tweaks did so much to get a clean, quiet floor and combined with the "standard" tweaks and are causing this table to keep it's pride of place - now I am trying to make it look better and will probably beef up the plinth somewhat.

BTW, I had noticed that the sound of my baby was getting to be lacklustre (or so I thought) so I ordered a new belt and voila - pace, rhythm, timing - and even more magic than before - in my case I found an original Thorens belt (it was not cheap) but it was and still is, magic.

taskerc
 
After several albums I am pleasantly surprised, as soon as I laid the tonearm down on Linda Ronstadt~Prisoner in Disguise, I immediately noticed the table was considerably quieter, I played both sides of this without sitting down and giving it a critical listen as I have found that the AT-440MLa needs at least one LP to really warm up and start sounding it’s best.

Next I spun up Jon Butcher~Wishes and sat down for a good listen, well set up TD 145 or 160's are generally pretty quiet tables, but the silence at the beginning of the album and between tracks now is stunning.

Next up my first pressing of Steely Dan~Aja, I am hearing a lot more detail on the high end, I am not sure if this is new detail or if it is just because the table is so much blacker (more black?:headscrat) than it was before.

I will just have to keep spinning and see if I can figure it out!
 
totem said:
Great to see your continuation of the 145 MKII project. :thmbsp:
The sand filled plinth turned out sweet looking. Did you come to any conclusions
regarding sand filled /versus having the table resting on a bed of sand.
Perhaps the benefits of each are not quite the same?
Click to expand...

Totem, I have my table set up on an isolation table made of sand between two sheets of MDF in an Oak frame, I have not tried setting it on a bed of sand, although I believe that it would be more effective my wife would have a stroke!
The sand filled plinth is more for isolating interior resonance, where the bed of sand would be more to isolate exterior vibrations.
 
scootchu said:
That is extraordinary! Nice work. I can't wait to see what it all looks like and most importantly sounds like. You make it look so very easy.
I want onnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeee.... whaaaaahhhhh :tears:
Click to expand...

Scott, thank you, I wish it was easy! there is lot of time in the design and the build, but after the first listen I think that it was worthwhile. :yes:
 
Great read!

You've inspired me. I already replaced the rca's but realised after reading this that my belt was riding low to the point of rubbing against the lifter. Followed your instructions and it's riding just right now!

Many thanks!
 
I just wanted to do a little postscript on this mod after I have listened to it for a week.

It has far exceeded my expectations, I really did not expect this plinth to change the way the TT sounded so dramatically, the background is so much quieter, if you put a stethoscope any where on the plinth it is dead quiet, there is still some noise coming from the top plate, but we will take care of that soon enough, the details in the highs are where this mod really shines, I am hearing things in my favorite recordings that I have never heard, the music is so much more involving than it was before, the plinth undoubtedly took this table to a completely new level!

:music:
 
Beautiful work on that plinth, Mel! I was following your thread a while back but hadn't tuned in since you started the woodwork... that quilted maple is particularly nice!

Great job. Great pics. Thanks for sharing!

Nate
 
what beautiful professional job.....i can't say enough good things about it besides ..i want one....did you keep all the measurements written down. maybe you might consider a kit the pieces precut (except the veneer). seems there a few of us 145 mkII owners following this.
 
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