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Thorens TD160 cartridge/stylus and upgrade recommendations.

Pieman2016

Pieman2016

New Member
Just got hold of TD160 mark 1.
I have oiled the main platter bearing and dropped a tiny bit of sewing machine oil on the motor spindle.

The TT has the original Thorens arm and headshell with a Shure M75ED cartridge and stylus. I think this could be the original cart/stylus.

I have set the table up and all seems to be playing well.once the ground connection on the RCA was twisted to make a good connection. The sound is not bad reasonable bass, good stereo separation, High frequency sound is not really there much. Could this be a worn stylus?

These are the things I plan to do to improve things beyond the stylus.

0) Make wall shelf with some paving stone or granite shelf?

1) Set up the ground from the arm on a separate connector direct to amp bypassing everything else?

2) Replace power cable and earth sub chasis and chasis to mains ground. Use this ground for phono connectors?

3) Replace Phono cables maybe?? and definitely phono connectors

4) Replace the cart /stylus which will be a priority.

Given that I am not using really audiophile amp/speakers (Cambridge A5 and Mordant short speakers)

Should I just keep the M75ED cart and just replace the stylus. Can a better stylus be put in this cart rather than a stock Shure M75ED?

Can anyone suggest a much better cart/stylus for sub £100/ $150?

Many thanks
 

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You might look up "suspension tuning" at theanologdept.com. I use the M75 with a genuine Shure N75ED type 2 with excellent results (DUAL 1229) but this would put the resonance of the TP 16 at 6.7, a little low. I would keep looking. Happy tweaking!
 
Welcome to AK Pieman :) What is your budget? I have a TD-160 that has a Shure N91ED on it. I was lucky enough to find a NOS stylus that sounds great. I also picked up a Jico SAS for it and boy is that a wonderful detailed stylus. To be honest, I would not use an unknown stylus on my records. When I get a new/used cart, I always buy a new stylus. The Jico SAS is expensive, and you can look at other lower priced Jico stylus.
 
noisefreq said:
You might look up "suspension tuning" at theanologdept.com. I use the M75 with a genuine Shure N75ED type 2 with excellent results (DUAL 1229) but this would put the resonance of the TP 16 at 6.7, a little low. I would keep looking. Happy tweaking!
Click to expand...
I will definitely look at tracking but I am concerned that if the stylus is worn I won't be able to really sort the tracking out without damaging my limited collection . Thanks for your response I'd like to post some before and after wavs so others can hear what upgrades might do even with a modest phono preamp. All the best !
 
kermit z said:
Welcome to AK Pieman :) What is your budget? I have a TD-160 that has a Shure N91ED on it. I was lucky enough to find a NOS stylus that sounds great. I also picked up a Jico SAS for it and boy is that a wonderful detailed stylus. To be honest, I would not use an unknown stylus on my records. When I get a new/used cart, I always buy a new stylus. The Jico SAS is expensive, and you can look at other lower priced Jico stylus.
Click to expand...
Yeah the current stylus worries me! Will the Jico sas fit on the m75 ed?
 
What a beautiful 160 - congrats! I have that same arm on a 125 Mk2 and can recommend the Denon DL-110 high output moving coil cartridge. The prices on these have gone up significantly in the last year or so but sometimes one can find a deal. I've also been happy using an Audio Technica AT-7V cartridge on that arm.

BTW, that arm is the TP-16 Mk1 with an effective mass of 16.5 grams. A little heavy but most still consider it in the range for a medium mass arm.
 
Audio Technica AT-7V , AT-120E.
Nagaoka MP-110

Those three cartridges would be my picks in your price range. All three are a good match for your Thorens TP-16 arm.
 
+1 on the Nagaoka MP-110. I had forgotten about that guy. A buddy runs that cartridge on his TD-160 (with the stock arm) and likes it a lot. To my ear, the ATs and Denon DL-110 provide more detail but the Nagaoka has a very enjoyable midrange and is no slouch in the treble.
 
I have a TD160C that I am very happy with. It was purchased new and has had very good care. I was using a Shure V-15 Type IV but switched to a 999VE/X when an Empire factory stylus replacement became available.

I know that it's considered a medium mass tone-arm but I have never been disappointed with any cartridge I've used on it. There have been a fair number of them.

One major improvement came when I set the TP-16 tracking force gage at zero, used a digital tracking force gage and only the counter weight to set the tracking force. I use the anti-skating set at a bit over half the recommended scale value. I don't find it necessary to implement any other modification.

Try it, I think you'll like it.
 
Stevedel said:
I have a TD160C that I am very happy with. It was purchased new and has had very good care. I was using a Shure V-15 Type IV but switched to a 999VE/X when an Empire factory stylus replacement became available.

I know that it's considered a medium mass tone-arm but I have never been disappointed with any cartridge I've used on it. There have been a fair number of them.

One major improvement came when I set the TP-16 tracking force gage at zero, used a digital tracking force gage and only the counter weight to set the tracking force. I use the anti-skating set at a bit over half the recommended scale value. I don't find it necessary to implement any other modification.

Try it, I think you'll like it.
Click to expand...

I did the same when I had my TP-16 Thorens arm on my TD-160 (using SME arm now), set the VTF gauge on the arm to 0 and then just used the counterweight to set the VTF with. Used my Shure SFG-2 tracking gauge to measure the tracking force. I found the high frequencies sounded smoother with this method.
 
My recommendation:

Upgrade cartridge to something like MP 110 or DL 110, good match for that arm.

Oil the motor, clean platter bearing and replace oil with fresh.

Update cables and RCAs plugs.

Adjust suspension for best performance.

No need to jack with the grounding, you could create a ground loop and induce hum.

Cheers, Bob
 
Last edited:
Thanks all and Bobins08 they seem like sensible suggestions. The TT sounds pretty good already to me. So I have a little dilemma as what cart/stylus to go for.
The M75ED 2 definitely I reckon must be losing some top end and is old/warn

My thoughts

DL 110 has no replacement stylus..

Like the sound of the MP110

or maybe even a AT120e and upgrade to a 440 at some point?

but also like the idea of a jico sas stylus.

I might just buy a jico sas for the M75ED 2? although this is not that cheap either 133USD.
or maybe go for a Shure ME97HE or XE? as these can take a Jico replacement at some point?



Thoughts?

Thanks for all your insight!
 
Pieman2016 said:
Thanks all and Bobins08 they seem like sensible suggestions. The TT sounds pretty good already to me. So I have a little dilemma as what cart/stylus to go for.
The M75ED 2 definitely I reckon must be losing some top end and is old/warn

My thoughts

DL 110 has no replacement stylus..

Like the sound of the MP110

or maybe even a AT120e and upgrade to a 440 at some point?

but also like the idea of a jico sas stylus.

I might just buy a jico sas for the M75ED 2? although this is not that cheap either 133USD.
or maybe go for a Shure ME97HE or XE? as these can take a Jico replacement at some point?



Thoughts?

Thanks for all your insight!
Click to expand...

You can also upgrade the Nagaoka MP110 stylus to any of the higher models, the stylus is interchangeable between them!
 
Hi to all ! Hope im doing this alright , for it is only the second time ....

I am hoping to find some help choosing a cartridge for my psx600.
Its now fitted with a grado green wich i am not so happy with. Should i try a
A V15 type 3 or a AT 410E/ Occ or ortofon 10 ???
These are the choices i can try now. Any idea?

By the way about the thorens i own a td 145 with original arm and a mp 110 nagaoka. I think its a great combination
 
And also thanks to ak. I have been reading all sort of interesting stuff for the last 2 years. You are. An encyclopedia of infomation.
 
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