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Thorens TD150 mki vs mkii

A

Aladdinsane

Active Member
Hey everyone, I have a line on a local thorens td-150 mki. From what I can tell, the mki seems to be much less popular than the mkii. So on that note...

The main differences are the tonearm and arm board, right? Are there any other factors that make the mki less desirable than the mkii?

People seem to really dislike the TP13, is it really that much worse than the TP13A? If I wanted to replace the arm at some point, would that be more difficult with the mki? Or are both versions similarly modable?

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
 
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Aladdinsane said:
From what I can tell, the mki seems to be much less popular than the mkii.
Click to expand...
I don't think that's true. The Mk-I has a "made in germany by EMT under swiss license" label on the armboard. This may be the source for a belief by more than a few owners that it's a rare EMT turntable. It's not an EMT turntable but aside from the fact it's a few years older than the Mk-II, and that it was made within a shorter period, thus in lesser quantities, it may be that not too many owners are willing to part with it.

The difference between the TP-13 (no antiskate) and the TP13A (with antiskate plus rider weight VTF adjustment) is really minor. Both aren't spectacular tonearms but they're a relic of their time and for the low/medium compliance carts that reigned that era, they were not bad at all. Lack of anti-skate adjustment on a tonearm was no big deal back then, and some of the finest tonearms of the day didn't have it. One big plus for both variants, is they came with the TP-50 headshell that had a built in VTA adjustment incorporated into it.

You can swap the stock TA on either mark, with no difficulty from either of them. That's one benefit of having an armboard and it could also support an SME or other adapter mounting plate.
BTW: I think the Mk-II armboard is made of some polymer (or resin, or plastic), while the older armboards are good old fashion wood.
 
tnsilver said:
I don't think that's true. The Mk-I has a "made in germany by EMT under swiss license" label on the armboard. This may be the source for a belief by more than a few owners that it's a rare EMT turntable. It's not an EMT turntable but aside from the fact it's a few years older than the Mk-II, and that it was made within a shorter period, thus in lesser quantities, it may be that not too many owners are willing to part with it.

The difference between the TP-13 (no antiskate) and the TP13A (with antiskate plus rider weight VTF adjustment) is really minor. Both aren't spectacular tonearms but they're a relic of their time and for the low/medium compliance carts that reigned that era, they were not bad at all. Lack of anti-skate adjustment on a tonearm was no big deal back then, and some of the finest tonearms of the day didn't have it. One big plus for both variants, is they came with the TP-50 headshell that had a built in VTA adjustment incorporated into it.

You can swap the stock TA on either mark, with no difficulty from either of them. That's one benefit of having an armboard and it could also support an SME or other adapter mounting plate.
BTW: I think the Mk-II armboard is made of some polymer (or resin, or plastic), while the older armboards are good old fashion wood.
Click to expand...

Thank you! That pretty much answers all of my questions. So it's not that it's a lesser table or anything, just less common.
 
Another major difference is the armlift. The Mk I has a pretty basic lever that's mounted near the base of the arm and swivels horizontally. I haven't tried a Mk I myself but it seems difficult to operate without upsetting the suspension. For the Mk II, Thorens came up with their "remote" cue by knob and cable. This works extremely well and keeps any motion away from the suspended parts.
 
I just sold a TD150 mkI, but I really liked it. The tonearm lift was a little finicky, but I was under the impression that it could be adjusted. For whatever reason, I preferred the turntable to my old TD160.

If you are intent on installing a different tonearm, the arm board looked like it would be easy enough to swap out. I have seen plenty of photos of 1st version TD150s with SME 3009s on them.
 
The Mk 1 is very musical. If the price is right for you, grab it. Search for the Thorens Dept for great info.
 
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