timothy.faw
New Member
Looking to buy a vintage TT and hoping you all can help me decide between a Thorens TD-146 ($575 with an Ortofon OM-40 cart) and a Technics SL-Q2 ($270 with AT cart). Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Vintage TT Advice
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Thunderbox
Super Member
The Thorens with the OM-40. The cartridge is worth almost as much as they want for the table. An AT cartridge could be worth as little as $20.
stratokaster
Mental toss flycoon
Only if the stylus is not shot or worn out, otherwise it's worth about $10 which is the going rate for OM bodies on eBay.
timothy.faw
New Member
Thanks for the input! The Ortofon stylus is described as “a used stylus with plenty of life left”. Both tables are coming from repair shops, not random sellers, so I expect them to be in pretty good condition.
Thunderbox
Super Member
I'll take 2 at that price.
I think the answer is equally obvious as previous posters, but it is the opposite answer. The Thorens is twice the price of the Technics, and while both are good tables, neither is top of the line. The cartridges are pigs in a poke since you don't know how worn they are, and shouldn't determine your choice, or even what you decide is a good price - the AT may be a low end one, or it may be a high end one, you don't know (though you could find out) so to count the OM 40 as worth the price and ignore the AT makes no sense to me. And that is leaving aside my lack of enthusiasm for Ortofon MMs - I'm not an AT enthusiast, but I like a lot of them.
If you are asking for advice, you obviously don't have an insatiable craving for one or the other, so what would justify paying twice as much? For every Thorens nut there is a Technics nut - tastes differ. But until you succumb to one or another of the brand passions out there, price should be a MAJOR factor, as should condition.
If you are asking for advice, you obviously don't have an insatiable craving for one or the other, so what would justify paying twice as much? For every Thorens nut there is a Technics nut - tastes differ. But until you succumb to one or another of the brand passions out there, price should be a MAJOR factor, as should condition.
timothy.faw
New Member
All good points. To be honest, I prefer the aesthetics of the Thorens table but the price is more than I anticipated spending. Mostly posting here to get input on whether anything about the Thorens would justify the cost differential.
Luckyorleans
Super Member
You would want to be sure that the Thorens is perfectly set up and serviced - if it is it's a nice choice. If the speed is off, getting the belt set up right can be twitchy, even if it is new - been there to many times.
Technics DD like that are super rock solid and reliable and will just keep spinning for a long, long time. An "AT" cart does not say much as they are so many AT carts. Also, for both of them, are these replacement styluses - they could be cheapo generics and the performance may not be near what it was with the original one.
As hi*ball mentioned, manual or not is a key consideration. I am to absent minded for a manual myself.
Technics DD like that are super rock solid and reliable and will just keep spinning for a long, long time. An "AT" cart does not say much as they are so many AT carts. Also, for both of them, are these replacement styluses - they could be cheapo generics and the performance may not be near what it was with the original one.
As hi*ball mentioned, manual or not is a key consideration. I am to absent minded for a manual myself.
The actual values of vintage tables isn't something most folks take the time to really understand. Hype and name recognition are king.
Someone stumbling onto this forum would likely put AR and thorens at the top of the list, based just on the active posts.
Hype and name recognition are value. This is all just old stuff and there is actually a lot of it.
In a perfectly rational world (which is clearly not the world of audiophilia), tables of equal quality and condition would have the same value so all vast number of just as good no name tables would lower the market price of sought after items. It's certainly true that there are better and worse tables, but a huge driver of demand is people who want a name table because they 'know' it's good, but wouldn't actually be able to hear the difference, or if they could, wouldn't care much. But the security of a name has value.
In a perfectly rational world (which is clearly not the world of audiophilia), tables of equal quality and condition would have the same value so all vast number of just as good no name tables would lower the market price of sought after items. It's certainly true that there are better and worse tables, but a huge driver of demand is people who want a name table because they 'know' it's good, but wouldn't actually be able to hear the difference, or if they could, wouldn't care much. But the security of a name has value.
Yes and no.
There are more than a few items that have been "discovered" by the general masses in the last few years. Right now the best values are in the undiscovered category. Akai, nikko, etc.
Hell just a few years ago you couldn't give away mono tube amps to most folks. Now say "tube amp" and the whole town shows up.
True - which is what I was getting at. As soon as there is buzz, there is demand. It's not like people's ears suddenly got better or more experimental - it's that the name or type is out there, and everyone piles on.
Most companies made good items but also less salubrious ones. But when the name is out there, even the low end outsourced stuff goes up in price.
Stop talking about Nikko, please.
Most companies made good items but also less salubrious ones. But when the name is out there, even the low end outsourced stuff goes up in price.
Stop talking about Nikko, please.
timothy.faw
New Member
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
I ended up going a completely different direction and bought a Dual 1219 with a Shure v15 Type II cartridge for $280.
I ended up going a completely different direction and bought a Dual 1219 with a Shure v15 Type II cartridge for $280.
If your ears are like mine, you're gonna love that combo.
adnick
Addicted Member
Congrats, that’s a great deal, even more so if the stylus on the Shure is in working condition....
VR
Andy
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