What Thorens is this??

[mkii]

Hi I've found what seems to be a Thorens turntable on my local Craigslist. I'm the proud owner of a 124/ii and I know most of their early designs look like that. Anyone know what I'm looking at? And if it is Thorens, is it worth anything?

 

[Dennis Gardner]

The table is a Model E53. 3 speed, direct drive. Early-mid '50s.

 

[Djcoolray]

Looks ancient....

 

[mkii]

Wow, I think it's listed for $150, should I buy it, maybe with intention to sell? How much are the two worth?

I would put this question in dollars and sense but i have you guys that know what it is right here.

 

[Dennis Gardner]

Not a big market for those, and the $150 is most likely fair value for an odd, antique, with some rarity, but don't confuse it with any later model as far as being a collectible. Even Thorens TD111 and TD121 from a few years later pale in comparison to the TD124 in build quality and features.

The direct drive on that model in known for having more rumble than is acceptable for a machine playing LPs. These are best served playing 78RPM mono records and lacked most modern nuances that the better drives, arms, and cartridges from 10 years later possessed.

 

[mkii]

What about that arm? Would it be worth it for that?

 

[sreten]

Hi,

It's ancient, rubbish plinth and a very weird arm. Its not direct drive its idler drive.
I really can't work out whats going on at the end of that arm though I suspect
it has to do with 33/45 versus 78. For sure for $150 its worth it. Sort it out
with a decent plinth and you'll make lots. Don't necessarily keep the arm
and deck together, sell them separately.

rgds, sreten.

 

[mkii]

Oh okay, you're sure it's idler drive? All the other internet sources say the e53 is direct drive.

 

[sreten]

Hi, So direct drives were first built in the 1950's ?, rgds, sreten.

How come Thorens just gave up on such a technological lead
after one model ? And have never built a direct drive since ?
What other internet sources other than the posters here ?

 

[mkii]

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/thorens/e53pa.shtml

 

[Dennis Gardner]

They gave it up when they couldn't get the noise level of the motor to acceptable levels. The idler/belt technology was far superior to that early direct drive in isolation. You have to realize what stereo LPs did for the turntable market and how the need to quiet down a table became paramount. Idlers and belts fixed the issue. The motors of the E53 had very little in common with the '70s direct drive offerings. Direct drive didn't take off until better control over the motor's speed was affordable to do with pc board controllers.

 

[beatcomber]

Hi, So direct drives were first built in the 1950's ?, rgds, sreten.

How come Thorens just gave up on such a technological lead
after one model ? And have never built a direct drive since ?
What other internet sources other than the posters here ?

Direct drives in the '50s were very different from later direct drives (like Technics, for example). The '50s models had the platter spindle connected directly to the motor, and were probably very rumble-y.

 

[sreten]

Hi,

I stand corrected. My apologies to those I contradicted.

rgds, sreten.

 

[Charlie S]

The arm is an early Pickering, wired only for mono. Only Pickering cartridges of that era will match the arm. Standard half-inch mount cartridges won't fit this arm. (I believe the cartidges clip in somehow and are easily swapped with separate cartridges for 78rpm records (coarse groove) and for 33/45-rpm records (microgroove). Those cartridges may have been moving coils, with limited vertical compliance. The styli were not user replaceable. It would be surprising if the cartridge now mounted is usable, and repair would be problematic. Certainly not by the present-day Stanton folks.