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To buy or not to buy Thorens TD 160

Meandean

Meandean

New Member
I have the opportunity to purchase a Thorens TD 160.
I’m using a Denon DP 62L, also have a Rega planar 3 and a Bang and Olufsen Beogram RX.
I know I don’t really need another TT and this one is priced at 250.
Also need some input on subs am in the market don’t know what to buy.
Thanks
 
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If bought well Thorens TTs always have a market.
Buy it and see how it compares. It might become your favorite and you can sell one of the others.

good luck and let us know your impressions.

Thanks

Eric
 
If it's in good shape you could resell it. Personally I sold my Thorens and bought another Japanese direct drive because I didn't like it. Just my experience though.
 
In good condition, a Thorens is always a good turntable that retains it's value. Don't know you circumstances but if they are such that you can get it, I would advise to go for it and then reevaluate the turntables and then, if appropriate, sell one off. The Thorens will bring what you pay for it at that price so it is not a large risk.
 
Yes, at the price you stated, you can't go wrong! If you don't like it, you can easily sell for the same price or better.

I actually sold my stock TD-160 to help pay for a Japanese Direct Drive. But I did really like it. It is just that it was the only one of my keepers I was willing to let go at that time.
 
I will never be without a Thorens TD160 (Mk I, or a TD145). Or a Dual 1009/1019/1219/1229. Or a Rega Planar 3 with RB300 tonearm.

If the Thorens is in good working conditi9n, then the previous responses are correc - you can get your money back if you decide to sell if it is not your thing (very authoritative yet refined sound, unlike the punchy rhythmic drive of a Dual idler, or the nice computations of a Rega).
 
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gadget73 said:
How are your floors? If they bounce you may hate that 160. Nice machine but they do not get on with bouncy rooms.
Click to expand...

Squash balls cut in half under a piece of board, under a suspended TD160, and my bouncy wood floors hardly ever disturb the table anymore. There are cheap, easy ways around the problem of bouncy wood floors. Well maybe not if you have hyperactive kids...
 
Under suspended do you mean suspend the turntable with wires from the ceiling? I heard some guys are doing that.
Like the balls cut in half that’s
 
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No, I meant make a stand with a piece of board with 3 or 4 halves of squash balls as feet. Put the Thorens on this stand, and level it with cardboard. This has solved footfall issues on my old bouncy wood floors.
 
It's easy to say "If you don't like it, you can easily sell it and get your money back."

Packing a TT like the Thorens 160 is nightmare, I always lose money on it and avoid it like the plague.

Also, FWIW, the 160 is my least favorite of all the Thorens TTs. I had one for awhile and hated it. Granted, I had a TD125 at the same time, and that one is a masterpiece.

Several have mentioned the floor/trampoline effect and the 160 is particularly susceptible because of its high COG. I tried cut-squash-balls, Vibrapods and other special feet, but only a wall-shelf is guaranteed effective, and I don't like wall shelves: you can't move the TT anywhere else.

Maybe that floor was freakishly bouncy — but an unsprung Denon 1200 worked perfectly in exactly the same place. With the Thorens, OTOH, the stylus bounced across the LP as soon as I set it down in the lead-in groove, and did somersaults on the way.
 
bimasta said:
It's easy to say "If you don't like it, you can easily sell it and get your money back."

Packing a TT like the Thorens 160 is nightmare, I always lose money on it and avoid it like the plague.

Also, FWIW, the 160 is my least favorite of all the Thorens TTs. I had one for awhile and hated it. Granted, I had a TD125 at the same time, and that one is a masterpiece.

Several have mentioned the floor/trampoline effect and the 160 is particularly susceptible because of its high COG. I tried cut-squash-balls, Vibrapods and other special feet, but only a wall-shelf is guaranteed effective, and I don't like wall shelves: you can't move the TT anywhere else.

Maybe that floor was freakishly bouncy — but an unsprung Denon 1200 worked perfectly in exactly the same place. With the Thorens, OTOH, the stylus bounced across the LP as soon as I set it down in the lead-in groove, and did somersaults on the way.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it was a bad mismatch between arm and cartridge. Years ago, a close friend had a Shure V15 III mounted in his Empire turntable (don't know the model, sorry). The cartridge would skip all over the place with no movement in the room. The arm/cartridge combination was being driven at the resonant frequency by the music content. Switching to a Stanton 681EEE solved the problem. Perhaps the arm/cartridge in your setup had a similar issue.

In an electro-mechanical system like a turntable a great many things can influence the overall performance.

Just some thoughts on the issue you describe.

Shelly_D
 
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