Wanting a new/old Turntable... but which one? Garrard/Thorens etc

[John]

The TD124 goes for silly money these days

[The Black Adder]

Hmm... a TD124 would be nice... but the ones I can see on ebay are going for that + i'd need a tone arm, unless I use my REGA 251... can you get a 3point arm board for the 124?

Thanks guys for your help so far... most inforamative.

How about a Technics 1210 or a Lin Sondek?

[John]

The 1210 great but I think the money you paying out the Lenco will be better If you willing to invest more latter then by all means go for the 1210
The lenco is seriously good value

[Beobloke]

Given my predelictions for turntable purchasing, and the fact that I use and adore a Garrard 301, what I'm about to say may sound strange but here goes.........

Keep the Gyro. It's a fabulous deck (and a classic in its own right!). You will seriously struggle to better it for a budget of £600.

[The Black Adder]

Hi Adam, I am tempted to just keep the Gyro as it is a lovely TT... I just love olde stuff and finding it rather tempting to look at something else, but as you said... hard pushed to find something that sounds as good as the Gyro...

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well, the Gyro is pretty much 'old stuff' these days - even a new one!
The design's well over 25 years old, I reckon.

[Alex_UK]

Well I'm currently playing my knackered old Garrard 401, with crappily setup SME3009, in a shitty plinth which may as well be a Blue Peter prop made out of old Frosties boxes, with a cartridge that even struggles to aspire to budget (Audio Technica AT95E) and do you know what, Neil Diamond has never sounded so great! I could paractically be on the Robert E Lee! There's a bit of rumble there when playing the gaps between records, but it isn't noticeable once the music kicks in, and you just want to listen to the tunes. (I have realised though that I'd be better investing in a Record Cleaning Machine instead of the turntable!)

I'm sure you can guess what I'd recommend - but I'm biased! (I still think the Gyro is one of the most beautiful decks in the world ever, though... If it wasn't for the sentimental value I have with the 401 I'd be tempted to persuade you into a deal!)

[Barry]

Hmm... a TD124 would be nice... but the ones I can see on ebay are going for that + i'd need a tone arm, unless I use my REGA 251... can you get a 3point arm board for the 124?

Thanks guys for your help so far... most inforamative.

How about a Technics 1210 or a Lin Sondek?

As a user of a Thorens TD124/II deck for the last 40 years and an owner of three of them, obviously I can recommend one. There are plenty of s/h items out there and spare idler wheels, belts (yes it uses both!), strobe neons and other spares are readly available from Schopper in Switzerland.

A second hand TD124/II + SME 3009 will just about saturate your buget - and if you want a 12" SME then you will be looking at > £1000.

Spare arm boards for the TD124 are readily available from eBay shops in Germany, as well as the afore-mentioned Schopper.

If bass is very important to you, then you might be better off going for a Garrard 301/401. I have virtually no experience of either of these decks, so cannot advise.

Regards

[DSJR]

Twenty years ago I compared a Gyrodeck with power supply to a NAS Spacedeck, both with Rega RB300's and K9's and the Spacedeck easily won that one..

Ten years or so ago, I compared a Gyrodeck (also with rega arm) to a WB Full Circle (I'm sure both had the same cartridges) and the Gyrodeck sounded swimmy, musical but vague (maybe it was the setup).

I still feel an Orbe upgrade will leapfrog most of the alternatives here and it's amazing that the TD125 was genuinely thought to be an UPGRADE on the TD124, which can (albeit gently) let you know about the parts whirling round underneath. In a way, a shame the better Thorens decks never made it here after the later TD126's (which got worse before an ignored (by the Linn, Pink, Oracle, Roksan brigade) triumphal return to form).

Anyway, just my tuppence worth.

[Barry]

He he, the SL110 just works. I got fed up with the maintenance of the TD124 II, years ago. I have three motors including the Thorens Papst conversion.

The Thorens 124/II only needs the occasional maintenance - about once every 5 years is all that is needed. The usual item that needs attention are the rubber 'mushrooms' used to support the deck. With time these harden, become brittle and collapse, and have to be replaced. Spares are readily obtainable.

The Papst motors were supplied to Thorens when the original source of the motors dried up. Despite looking 'bigger and better', they are no more powerful than the original and are over-rated; TD124s so fitted, command excessive and unjustified prices on eBay.

Regards