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Which Thorens?

Sasha18

Sasha18

Active Member
I'm looking to upgrade my turntable from a Kenwood KD-2000. With about $300 and a lot of patience, I'd like to find a Thorens.

-Wood finish is a must.
-I have a new Shure M97Xe cartridge.
-Practical, good sounding, ease of use is the priority, but tweakable would be nice too.

But which one? The range of Thorens is confusing me.
 
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TD-150mkII is my fav. Had many other Thorens in the past, but have always thought this model was special. The TD-160 Super is also a great table.
 
td 160, td 150, td 145, are all very nice and you should have no problem finding one in your budget.

td125 and td 126 are both very nice, normally go for a little more then your budget but deals are out there if you look.

the TD 124 is the granddaddy of them all. top of the food chain. they go for big coin but again deals are out there. I know a guy who just got one at a garage sale for $10.

good luck
 
I have the TD-160 Super and it is a great table. They came without a tonearm. It was usually picked by the consumer. Mine has a Linn Basik.
 
I think with your budget an 160 (or even a 160super) or with some luck a 125 would be the best choices. I never really cared for the 124, the 126 will be too expensive and the 14X and the 166 are (IMHO) of lesser quality then tyhe 160/125. Of those two, I rate the 125 a little bit higher. The exotic stuff like the Concrete or the Reference are way out of reach, although fun to dream about.
 
HI,
I have owned the TD 124 When it was a current model. Since then I have owned many fine turntables. Recently I accquired TD 125 in perfect condition on kind of a lark. Of these, I think the TD 124 was the poorest performing.

If you compare all specified parameters, the TD 124 comes out looking bad. Actually, I love the TD 124 but it is not because of its performance. I just like its looks and I have a romantic attachment to it. Performance wise, it is an old, obsolete design. All of Thorens belt drive turntables are better. And I have never liked any of Thorens tone arms.

I have a Graham 2.2 Deluxe unipivot arm on my TD 125 Mk 1. The TD 125 with this tone arm performs well. But, it's not state of the art. I still like it, though.

Sparky
 
Karma16 said:
HI,
I have owned the TD 124 When it was a current model. Since then I have owned many fine turntables. Recently I accquired TD 125 in perfect condition on kind of a lark. Of these, I think the TD 124 was the poorest performing.

If you compare all specified parameters, the TD 124 comes out looking bad. Actually, I love the TD 124 but it is not because of its performance. I just like its looks and I have a romantic attachment to it. Performance wise, it is an old, obsolete design. All of Thorens belt drive turntables are better. And I have never liked any of Thorens tone arms.

I have a Graham 2.2 Deluxe unipivot arm on my TD 125 Mk 1. The TD 125 with this tone arm performs well. But, it's not state of the art. I still like it, though.

Sparky
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:scratch2:

I have the complete opposite experience as you. I stupidly sold my 124 years ago, wanting something "new" and went through VPI, Avid, Rega, and a 160 Super. Nothing compared to my new 124 with the SME 345 arm. That said, the arm on this table retails for over $3000.

Back on topic, a 160 should fit your budget and be a great table.
 
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nu2toobs said:
:scratch2:

I have the complete opposite experience as you. I stupidly sold my 124 years ago, wanting something "new" and went through VPI, Avid, Rega, and a 160 Super. Nothing compared to my new 124 with the SME 345 arm. That said, the arm on this table retails for over $3000.

Back on topic, a 160 should fit your budget and be a great table.
Click to expand...

HI,
I'm glad you are happy. Nothing I say will change that nor do I want to. But, I will tell you that if you have a system with great (I mean great, not good, sub 20 Hz) bass response you will hear the rumble problems the TD 124 (idler drive) has. The TD 125 (belt drive) solved those problems. Just look at the specs. They tell the truth. So do our ears.

Additionally, the TD 124 Mk 1 could not be used with moving coil cartridges due to its steel platter. It was a MC killer. The Mk 2, much rarer, had an aluminum platter which solved that problem. Which one do you have?

I guess you agree about the Thorens arms. BTW, my Graham 2.2 Deluxe is also a $3000 arm. It's an excellent arm. But, neither your SME 345 arm, which I like, or my arms will solve the basic rumble problem with the TD 124. I can assure you that my system goes to below 20Hz with power and low distortion. Not a good home for a TD 124.

Sparky
 
The Thorens TD-160 is the best Thorens for your budget and a nice performer. The TD-124 isn't rumble prone if in the correct plinth and in top mechanical condition. Back in the day, the top idler turntables were not in suitable plinth arrangements unless they lived their lives in broadcast studio furniture. And massive plinths were needed for the TD-124, Garrard 301 and 401, Rek-O-Kuts, and even the Lencos to perform at their best.
 
Any one of them...

The 126, 126MKII, 126MKIV, and if getting a 126 don't get the 126MKIII

The 125, 125MKII

The 160 super, the 160, the 160MKII

The 145, the 145MKII

The 150, the 150MKII

The 165

And the 170, the original from the mid 60s, not the new one from the 90s

The 146, 147, and 166, are considered lesser Thorens, just because their Zamak Platter are not as heavy, 2.7kg versus 3.2kg and 3.4kg, but in reality they are excellent TTs in their own right.

I did'nt include the TD-124, the TDW-224 and the TD-524, they are not in your budget, and plus, they are way overpriced to start with. Although very good TTs, they are not worth the asking price.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
The Thorens TD-160 is the best Thorens for your budget and a nice performer. The TD-124 isn't rumble prone if in the correct plinth and in top mechanical condition. Back in the day, the top idler turntables were not in suitable plinth arrangements unless they lived their lives in broadcast studio furniture. And massive plinths were needed for the TD-124, Garrard 301 and 401, Rek-O-Kuts, and even the Lencos to perform at their best.
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HI Kent,
You have the experience, so I won't argue. However, why would a broadcast station, either AM or FM replinth a TD 124 for low noise performance when they are not required to have a bandwidth that goes that low in frequency?

In other words a broadcast turntable could have horrid rumble specifications, but the modulators would not see it due to their designed bandwidth limitations and, therefore the rumble would never be broadcast. I don't buy your arguement.

Sparky
 
Because the modulators can amplify rumble and it can overload some modulators and even shut off the transmitter due to overload protection. Broadcasters try to limit out of band emissions due to many reasons. All broadcast gear must be well maintained due to that proof of performance which the gear must meet. FCC says so.
 
And another tip, you can with a new mounting board upgrade the tonearm later if you desire with most Thorens classics. And they're easily tweakable. Enjoy!
 
jeremyjustic said:
td 160, td 150, td 145, are all very nice and you should have no problem finding one in your budget.

td125 and td 126 are both very nice, normally go for a little more then your budget but deals are out there if you look.

the TD 124 is the granddaddy of them all. top of the food chain. they go for big coin but again deals are out there. I know a guy who just got one at a garage sale for $10.

good luck
Click to expand...


I spent $2.00 on my TD 135...:D
 
KentTeffeteller said:
Because the modulators can amplify rumble and it can overload some modulators and even shut off the transmitter due to overload protection. Broadcasters try to limit out of band emissions due to many reasons. All broadcast gear must be well maintained due to that proof of performance which the gear must meet. FCC says so.
Click to expand...

HI Kent,
But why would not the modulators not just have a front end filter that would make it immune to out of band signals including rumble? Why try to process a signal that will not be broadcast? That's how I would do it.

In fact, as I remember, when the FCC was defining the band requirements for FM, the low frequency limit of 50 Hz was chosen specifically to avoid the problem of rumble in the turntables of the day. This bandwidth limitation is exactly the same as today.

Sparky
 
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moinau said:
Any one of them...

The 126, 126MKII, 126MKIV, and if getting a 126 don't get the 126MKIII

The 125, 125MKII

The 160 super, the 160, the 160MKII

The 145, the 145MKII

The 150, the 150MKII

The 165

And the 170, the original from the mid 60s, not the new one from the 90s

The 146, 147, and 166, are considered lesser Thorens, just because their Zamak Platter are not as heavy, 2.7kg versus 3.2kg and 3.4kg, but in reality they are excellent TTs in their own right.

I did'nt include the TD-124, the TDW-224 and the TD-524, they are not in your budget, and plus, they are way overpriced to start with. Although very good TTs, they are not worth the asking price.
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Would never consider a TD-147 a "lesser" Thorens. It's a TD-160 Super with a stock arm and auto-shut off. Otherwise, it is highly prized.

Dave
 
Aha, well that's good to hear about the TD-147 -- mine's highly prized, to me. Before buying, I had read that it would have a plastic sub-platter, so it was a nice surprise to see it's metal after all. Anyway, I can relate to the OP in terms of the proliferation of similar models in the 14x-16x range. But then there are even more, like the 320. A step up or a step down? Any general comments on the newer models?
 
Having heard or owned most of the range mentioned, except TD124 (though I have a TD135II), I would vote for a TD150, I or II. In practice, I would go for anything in the 14x-16x that is in good condition. The condition of the motor is probably most important.
 
Thanks for all these notes... very helpful. The 160 appeared to be the most likely candidate in terms of price and number out there, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for the others. As I said, I can be very patient on this.

thorenstd124 said:
I spent $2.00 on my TD 135...:D
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I would gladly double your money. You could role over your capital gains into a higher end model. I'll just put that out there.
 
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