TD 124

[trio leo]

Hi Guys,

I've just dug out my trusty TD 124 Mk2 / Audio Technica 1503 Mk3 arm and at the moment I'm using it fitted into an acrylic shelf. it looks naff

I would like to make or have made a new plinth, any advice on which material is best for this deck. MDF, Plywood, solid wood, granite, slate, corian, other?

I have an acrylic arm board at present, but I don't think it's that good, I've tried aluminium, that was awful, any suggestions?

regards Al

[chelsea]

These look ok.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SLATE-OAK-PLINTH-FOR-THORENS-TD-124-THORENS-TD-135-Turntables-/321020904104?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Turntables&hash=item4abe5642a8

There are a few others on ebay as well as armboards.

[Jonneville]

Hi Alan,

I have the same TT as you.

Supposedly one of the best (and most expensive!) plinths is the "Solid Design" one made by Schopper, which is a solid version of the original Thorens/Ortofon plinth. These solid plinths are supposed to be a great improvement over the original hollow stands (which are still made by Schopper, Sound Labs and others).

Schopper also make armboards in ply or panzerwood. Here's the link http://www.schopper.ch/index.php?page=plinth-tonearmboards. The Schopper solid plinth is an eye-watering CHF 2,000 plus p&p.

A more affordable option is a copy made by Jim Campbell in the States, who can also make you a matching armboard...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/8/5/9/6/3/webimg/266359817_tp.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/8/5/9/6/3/webimg/266359757_tp.jpg

Here's the link http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thorens-TD-124-Solid-CLD-Style-Plinth-/330850584859?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4d083b491b

This one is about £230 plus £50 shipping, then probably 20% VAT, still making it a good deal. I have one of these and it is beautifully made. I treated myself to a Schopper armboard as I wanted it in a hurry but one of Jim's would have been fine. I have read that some think that Jim's plinths are better finished than Schopper's.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Jon'.

[Marco]

Absolutely gorgeous - fantastic workmanship! :stalks:

Marco.

[Rare Bird]

yum yum

[Natalie NWA]

Hi Alan,

I have the same TT as you.

Supposedly one of the best (and most expensive!) plinths is the "Solid Design" one made by Schopper, which is a solid version of the original Thorens/Ortofon plinth. These solid plinths are supposed to be a great improvement over the original hollow stands (which are still made by Schopper, Sound Labs and others).

Schopper also make armboards in ply or panzerwood. Here's the link http://www.schopper.ch/index.php?page=plinth-tonearmboards. The Schopper solid plinth is an eye-watering CHF 2,000 plus p&p.

A more affordable option is a copy made by Jim Campbell in the States, who can also make you a matching armboard...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/8/5/9/6/3/webimg/266359817_tp.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/8/5/9/6/3/webimg/266359757_tp.jpg

Here's the link http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thorens-TD-124-Solid-CLD-Style-Plinth-/330850584859?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4d083b491b

This one is about £230 plus £50 shipping, then probably 20% VAT, still making it a good deal. I have one of these and it is beautifully made. I treated myself to a Schopper armboard as I wanted it in a hurry but one of Jim's would have been fine. I have read that some think that Jim's plinths are better finished than Schopper's.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Jon'.

Hi Alan, I would say this is a no brainer.

Looks really cool

Natalie;)

[DSJR]

Russ Collinson made a super Schopper-like plinth for hifi dave and this combo with SME 3009/S2 sounded absolutely enchanting. Armboard is the stock ply? one which is lossy enough for some tonearms out there. Dave's deck hasn't been touched and still runs quietly and smoothly at the right speed with no issues at all. he posted a piccie on here a short while ago of his example which I cobbled together one afternoon while enjoying the then new Croft 25RS/Series 7R he had just got in :)

[Ammonite Audio]

Jim Campbell's plinths and armboards get my vote too. I have his solid plinth and Brazilian Cherry armboard, both of which are beautifully finished and exceptional value. There's no need to get excited about rubber mushrooms when using solid plinths - just bolt the deck down firmly and away you go.

Stereo Lab in Germany also do plinths etc and may be worth a look. See http://www.stereo-lab.de/EN/phono-accessories/thorens/index.html

Getting a TD124 to run quietly is quite a challenge, but possible. I've learnt a great deal from tinkering with mine and am happy to share my wisdom with anyone who needs guidance.

[DSJR]

My TD125 ply armboard came from Jim I now remember. Good and decent chap he is :)

[topoxforddoc]

I used to use squash balls cut in half instead of mushrooms. Of course, you can get different types of squash ball from blue dot (firmest) to yellow dot (softest).

I like the look of Russ Collinson's plinths too. Sadly I no longer have a TD124; I've had two in the past. I sold the last one (in a beautiful solid teak faced plinth) when I bought my PLatine Verdier about 8 years ago.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

[trio leo]

Thanks Peeps,
I've sent Jim in USA a message, those plinths do look beautifully made and accentuate the curves of the 124. some gold plated feet might just finish it off.

enjoy your music

regards Al

[Jonneville]

Al - I'm going to ask Schopper if they'll sell me a set of these spikes...

http://www.schopper.ch/uploads/images/Thorens/Spareparts/Konsolen/TD_2005_c.JPG

Regards

Jon'.

[trio leo]

To be honest, Jon, I'm not sure whether spikes or sorbathane feet would be better, is it better to absorb the energy, acting like a suspension, or redirect it with spikes and cups.
If the 124 was on its rubber suspension mushrooms, would that isolate the deck enough, therefore making the feet just aestheticically pleasing.

There are several similar designs of spikes in various finishes on ebay, I'm sure Schopper quality is good, but maybe a tad expensive.

regards Al

[daytona600]

not cheap , but do look very nice , marco you would like this one

http://www.lignolab.com/en/products/zargen/

[trio leo]

As Natalie said, it is a no brainer, I've ordered a plinth from Jim in the USA and a matching armboard.
It hopefully will look and sound lovely.

regards Al

[Ammonite Audio]

As Natalie said, it is a no brainer, I've ordered a plinth from Jim in the USA and a matching armboard.
It hopefully will look and sound lovely.

regards Al

Did you go for the solid plinth?

[Rare Bird]

Al - I'm going to ask Schopper if they'll sell me a set of these spikes...


Are they Monacor Spikes?

[trio leo]

Hi Hugo,
I hope I have, I ordered what I thought was a solid one, it looked pretty solid in the photograph, in fact Jim put in the advert that the photos had been taken before the holes for the motor and leads had been cut out.
Now I'm worried a bit.

regards Al
Did you go for the solid plinth?

[Jonneville]

Are they Monacor Spikes?

Just looked those up and I see that they do look the same. Last week I sent Schopper an email about "their" spikes, so I'll let you know what they say - they usually take a while to respond.

I don't know whether the spikes would be an improvement but Schopper certainly know what they are doing so I assume that they think that the spikes are worthwhile.

I would be keen to know what others think about the various types of feet for one of these plinths (and also about using an isolation platform too!).

Regards

Jon'.

[Ammonite Audio]

Hi Hugo,
I hope I have, I ordered what I thought was a solid one, it looked pretty solid in the photograph, in fact Jim put in the advert that the photos had been taken before the holes for the motor and leads had been cut out.
Now I'm worried a bit.

regards Al

That's the one - don't worry!

[Ammonite Audio]

Just looked those up and I see that they do look the same. Last week I sent Schopper an email about "their" spikes, so I'll let you know what they say - they usually take a while to respond.

I don't know whether the spikes would be an improvement but Schopper certainly know what they are doing so I assume that they think that the spikes are worthwhile.

I would be keen to know what others think about the various types of feet for one of these plinths (and also about using an isolation platform too!).

Regards

Jon'.

Schopper know how to charge a fortune for everything they do and sell, even when identical items are available elsewhere for 30% less. I'm sure they do know what they're about, but the TD124 is not so complicated that it can't be worked out, with a bit of patience.

I don't think that the TD124, in a heavy plinth, needs any isolation, including the original mushrooms. That might seem counter-intuitive, but rubbery bits do seem to rob something from the music. Jim Campbell advised me not to buy new mushrooms for his plinth and I could have saved quite a bit of cash by accepting that good advice.

[The Black Adder]

I may go for a new top platter next and work myself back to the main platter and then the platter bearing.

With the top platter being made out of a harder alloy can anyone tell me if this works out in performance?

Also, Schopper/Swissonar are currently making a PSU.

[Jonneville]

I don't think that the TD124, in a heavy plinth, needs any isolation, including the original mushrooms. That might seem counter-intuitive, but rubbery bits do seem to rob something from the music. Jim Campbell advised me not to buy new mushrooms for his plinth and I could have saved quite a bit of cash by accepting that good advice.

Thanks Hugo. Do you use spikes on Jim's plinth and/or an isolation table?

Regards

Jon'.

[Ammonite Audio]

Thanks Hugo. Do you use spikes on Jim's plinth and/or an isolation table?

Regards

Jon'.

I use Stillpoints, mounted to the bottom of the plinth using threaded inserts. The deck sits on my Stillpoints ESS rack, so no isolation as such, but clever energy management nevertheless.

[Ammonite Audio]

I may go for a new top platter next and work myself back to the main platter and then the platter bearing.

With the top platter being made out of a harder alloy can anyone tell me if this works out in performance?

Also, Schopper/Swissonar are currently making a PSU.

I have the Swissonor top platter, but this was bought to replace my old, slighty wobbly original. I can't comment on its performance, but it is straight! I somehow doubt it's better than a mint original top platter (which is difficult to find nowadays).

[The Black Adder]

Cheers Hugo. Might leave it then as my platter is fine.

Btw, could you give me the details of where you got the Martin Bastin PSU from please, how much was it?

[trio leo]

Hugo mentioned not using the mushrooms as they may ruin the sound, but if the lift and lower rings that sit on top of the mushrooms sit directly onto the black painted surface of the plinth, will they scratch the surface? would a fibre washer of some kind prevent scratching or would that also affect the sound?

Damn it, I ordered a set of mushrooms before the thread got to that bit of advice:doh:

regards Al

[Ammonite Audio]

Hugo mentioned not using the mushrooms as they may ruin the sound, but if the lift and lower rings that sit on top of the mushrooms sit directly onto the black painted surface of the plinth, will they scratch the surface? would a fibre washer of some kind prevent scratching or would that also affect the sound?

Damn it, I ordered a set of mushrooms before the thread got to that bit of advice:doh:

regards Al

You do need to be careful about scratching the surface of the plinth (I have managed to damage mine and it will have to be sanded down and resprayed). You might find that you like what the mushrooms do - I don't, but we all have different ears, auditory processing systems etc! If you have ordered Jim's gel mushrooms, the deck can at least sit nice and low.

At some point I'm going to smooth off the edges of the 124's chassis, so no more scratching of the plinth is possible.

[trio leo]

I ordered the mushrooms from Stereo lab Germany at about £45.

My 124 only has a thin twin wire mains lead (no earth) so I have a twin and earth lead which I will fit with the earth attached to the chassis, I've been told this will reduce vibrations and make the deck play smoother/quieter.

Years ago Tom Fletcher made me a silversteel bearing thrust plate and he made the idler wheel a true circle, the deck does run very nicely.

regards Al

[The Black Adder]

I have always thought that the mushrooms are essential to the TD124... It's the only de-coupling you have from the base.

[Ammonite Audio]

I have always thought that the mushrooms are essential to the TD124... It's the only de-coupling you have from the base.

Yes, but with a solid base there may be no need for decoupling. My TD124 does not benefit from using the mushrooms, but neither does it suffer particularly if they are in place. YMMV, of course.