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Where to look for restored/vintage turntables

G

gscooper

New Member
Hello -- I first posted here 8 years ago, when I first started collecting vinyl, and you all were wonderful in pointing me toward Dave at Vinyl Nirvana for my first turntable. I was lucky enough to find an affordable "starter"/consumer model -- the Thorens TD-165. Recently, I have been having some wiring issues -- I think it's actually really easy to solve, but I am using this as an excuse to upgrade.

Does anyone have any recommendations for vintage/restored turntables other than Vinyl Nirvana? I loved my Thorens from there, but right now, the models for sale are a bit above my price range. However, I love how much care Dave puts into his restorations, shipping, after-sale questions/service, etc.

Are there any other folks out there whom you'd trust enough to send significant sums of money to? I hate the idea of randomly buying off ebay, etc., without a recommendation for specific vendors from folks with knowledge/experience.

Thanks!
Greg
 
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I should note that my price range is a bit flexible, though I'd prefer not to spend more than $1000 -- again, flexible in terms of having to pay more for a good cartridge, etc.

Also, I am using a pretty blah AV setup, as I don't have a separate listening room -- all of my AV runs through decent Klipsch speakers and a Pioneer receiver, with a NAD phono stage. However, I may upgrade this setup in the future.
 
Fixmydual.com if you want to give an idler drive a try. I picked up a Dual 1019 there and it’s so good that it replaced the TD-165 that was in my main system. Can’t get specific about price in this forum but it would be well within your budget.

Bill at Fixmydual does a great job restoring these turntables. He sells them with Ortofon OM10 cartridges pre-mounted. I ended up hating that cartridge so I replaced it with an AT VM540ml.
 
gscooper said:
I should note that my price range is a bit flexible, though I'd prefer not to spend more than $1000 -- again, flexible in terms of having to pay more for a good cartridge, etc.

Also, I am using a pretty blah AV setup, as I don't have a separate listening room -- all of my AV runs through decent Klipsch speakers and a Pioneer receiver, with a NAD phono stage. However, I may upgrade this setup in the future.
Click to expand...

I totally second the idea to tweak on your Thorens first instead of replacing it. Not only can you really improve the Thorens sonically and in performance but also esthetically.

With such a budget of about $1.000, there's a lot that can be done and make you feel it's all a new turntable you have. Maybe swap the tonearm for something better.

Now let's see first; what cartridge do you intend to use with that "new" turntable ? What model is the NAD preamp there ? And what Pioneer receiver and Klipsch speakers you have ?
 
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