Thorens specific group please ?

[candg.wales]

I am in the process of renovating my Thorens TD160

Is there any way we could have a Thorens specific group so that everyting Thorens can be found in one group please ?

Cheers

Graham

[synsei]

We are struggling to get a belt drive sub-forum implemented Graham so a Thorens specific one is probably out of the question :eyebrows:

[DSJR]

I started an essay here for TD160 setup and thought better of it. if you'd like me to prepare a setup guide from my experiences with hundreds of these things, I'd be happy to submit one for assessment for the library and comments from others..

[candg.wales]

Cheers for that offer. I,d love to read the stuff you have prepared on the TD160 optimisation
I have the SME 3009 II Imp too

Shame we can't have a Thorens group, it saves a lot of time searching

Thanks again

Graham

[Rare Bird]

You need the Analog dept web site for your Thorens requirement

[Dingdong]

Cheers for that offer. I,d love to read the stuff you have prepared on the TD160 optimisation
I have the SME 3009 II Imp too

Shame we can't have a Thorens group, it saves a lot of time searching

Thanks again

Graham

Set the suspension up properly.

Clean and re-oil the bearing.

Buy a new belt.

Rewire your tonearm.

Play music and enjoy.

That's pretty much all you need to do.

[walpurgis]

Agreed, Thorens are generally easy to set up. Why a separate group? Most questions can be answered quickly. I reckon nearly everybody on AOS has had a TD something or other at some time.

[Dingdong]

Forgot to mention getting a better mat (Blue Horizon or summat) and a record clamp (Michell) will make big improvements too.

And if you really want to go mad then build or buy a power supply for it.

[DSJR]

You don't need to spend stupid money on a Blue Horizon, Funk or Loricraft mat, since decent cork ones are available for twenty quid or less (I use several that are now available on fleabay for under a tenner).......

The suspension isn't that easy to get right without a little fore-knoeledge. There are cam-washers under each spring and if these are disturbed when levelling the sub-chassis, thay can take a while to get right if you've not done them before. Fortunately, Thorens put a couple of holes on the sub chassis and top plate that when viewed down through the "keyholes" in the top platter to help with centring and alignment. Cable dressing and clamping needs some thought too, and it's disappointing that all the new gorgeous looking replacement plinths out there don't have provision for this, unlike the originals.

[candg.wales]

Great feedback guys

In the process of priming the original Thorens plinth for painting

I have an off cut of granite here from my kitchen which I am thinking of getting cut for a replacement baseboard rather than a wooden one

I am about to order the cleaning / oil kit from Jo in Germany

I am struggling to justify a really expensive cartridge / stylus replacement so far
and wondering whether to stick wit the M75ED with new stylus or go for new cartridge. I also have an old Audio Technica cartridge and stylus from about 8 years ago but I have no way of identifying which one it is.

I am thinking about a cork mat too but still polishing the platter at the moment

Just reading around on here for best way to restore the cover too

Some of my 40 year old vinyl has sadly warped so I am wondering about a record clamp or weight to help wit this. Any thoughts on the max weight this should be on a Thorens TD10BII ?

Best way to polish the SME 3009 arm tube anyone ? It has some minor scuffs on it

What do you mean by cable dressing ?

Many thanks

Graham

[Dingdong]

I would disagree with DSJR n the mat. But from most of his recommendations he must have quite different ears from me.

Cable dressing is just fixing the arm cable so that it has little effect on the suspension.

Not sure if much will help with the warps tbh. The clamp will help if it is warped in a bell shape perhaps.

Invest in summat to clean yer vinyl as well.

Stick with the M75 for now.

Try Brasso for polishing the arm.

[Bazil]

Forgot to mention getting a better mat (Blue Horizon or summat) and a record clamp (Michell) will make big improvements too.

And if you really want to go mad then build or buy a power supply for it.

As long as you have a TD 160 with the long spindle, which I don't unfortunately.

[Dingdong]

Ah. I'm sure there are clamps that will take a short spindle, just can't think of one atm.

[Rare Bird]

Michell's old clamps should be fine..

[Dingdong]

Michell's old clamps should be fine..

I used to have one of them. Pretty thing, but the hinges on the brish thingy for my cartridge kept bouncing off it.

[Rare Bird]

Ah right ive heard this complaint before!! the later Michell clamps maybe better as they have a beveled edge

[Dingdong]

Ah right ive heard this complaint before!! the later Michell clamps maybe better as they have a beveled edge

Got one of them now. The old ones are good, but if you have a wide cart they can hit the edges of it.Most will be okay though.

[Rare Bird]

Yeh i can see why now.. still the early ones are real sexy but i can understand someting like a Shue V15 would be nay goowd.

[Floyddroid]

Blimey, you got off lightly Graham. You should have seen the fuss that was caused when i posted the fact that i thought there may have been a sub forum for Tube/valve users. I think you are only allowed a sun forum if you have a Technics 1210??????????????
Good little TT's the 160's though. I had hours of fun with mine. The best arm i ever heard on it though was a Mayware Formular 4. It sounded mint.:lol:

[ppat2]

Hi Graham,

I am going through the same process as you with a recently purchased TD160.

The only changes I have made so far are:

I kept the Shure M91ED cartridge, but replaced the stylus with a new Jico SAS 192-91ED stylus. This was a suggestion from DSJR, and a very good one. It really cleaned up the sound and smoothed out the highs and provided more detail, without any edginess or brightness.

I put on a new Thorens branded belt.

I am using an aftermarket felt mat on top of the rubber Thorens mat. The tonearm height as been adjusted for the extra thickness on the platter. I have compared this A/B many times, and every time it sounds better using both mats, than just the rubber one that comes with the 160. I can't remember the model of the mat I have, but it was about $50 CDN new.

With some blu tack, I placed 3 Black Diamond Racing cones under the plinth point side down, and the plinth on a stable shelf with some home made isolation, blu tack, mdf, etc.

I am using a clamp, and it is the Clearaudio Quadro clamp. Quite pricey, but works very well. I had a chance to bring home 4 different clamps to demo, and this was the best for my setup. Two of the other clamps were even more expensive, but did not improve any of the sonics. The Quadro proved t be very good in my setup. The Quadro was not purchased for the TD160. I have had it for some time for use with my other deck. I have compared A/B many times with clamp and without, and I prefer the tigther more stable imaging I get with the clamp on.

I am by no means an expert at any of this. I am new to the original TD160 and just starting to make a project of it.

For me, the next step will be to replace the bottom plate on the plinth and adjust the levelling screws at the same time and pull the foam out from the springs as others have suggested.

You can read some of the other suggestions I received at this AOS thread:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22301

[Hartge7]

Agreed, Thorens are generally easy to set up. Why a separate group? Most questions can be answered quickly. I reckon nearly everybody on AOS has had a TD something or other at some time.

And I would be surprised if most have not had an SME arm either on that TD or some other table.

There is a Thorens love thread on another site and I'm amazed how many are sporting the SME 3009 S2 Imp and other SME arms. My SME was on a 125 years ago, now I have a 160 Super with the Magnenpan arm. No way to compare some lowlife needed my 125 more than I did.

[Dingdong]

I had an ADC, an SME 3009 S2 and a Hadcock on mine. The SME and ADC were pretty similar, although the SME did benefit from new wire. The Hadcock was so much better. It had improved clarity and soundstage compared with the others.
Cartridge used on them all was my Shure VST V.

Getting the springs right on the TD160 is a pain in the arse. There are various threads about on the internet. It is possible to get it bouncing freely, but it goes out of tune quite easily.

[DSJR]

I would disagree with DSJR n the mat. But from most of his recommendations he must have quite different ears from me.

Cable dressing is just fixing the arm cable so that it has little effect on the suspension.

Not sure if much will help with the warps tbh. The clamp will help if it is warped in a bell shape perhaps.

Invest in summat to clean yer vinyl as well.

Stick with the M75 for now.

Try Brasso for polishing the arm.

Maybe I shoulod justify my comkments a little...

In the company of its peers, a TD160 isn't really that good. It's a bit messy and smeared sonically and the structure of the thing isn't very substantial, especially if you push it with more demanding tonearms. Back in the day, I make no apologies for saying that every R200 equipped Rega 2 or 3 we traded in absolutely trounced a Td160, irrespective of the arm it was fitted with. Sorry, but these memories are strong as I did countless dems.

The TD160 Super was an improvement though, the more solid baseboard and MDF arm mount helping here, but even then, a TD160 Super with R200 was easily beaten in clarity terms by a Systemdek III, Logic and LP12 with similar arm and cartridge on, the TD160 just sounding weak and wishy-washy in comparison.

Heavier mats as fitted to the "Super" model, the Avon mat and the notorious squidgy Le Mat/Dumpa mat sort of focused things up a little bit and gave a bit more punch in the case of the heavy rubber ones, the stock rubberised thingy fitted to the 160 and 125mk2 being terrible sonically and much worse than the 124 and 150/125 mk1 ribbed one.

As for cable dressing, ever tried setting one of these things up with a later Mission 774 with thicker and more rigid exit cables, let alone a typical SME cable? Sure, a Linn, R200 and RB tonearm cable is a doddle in comparison, but it's amazing how some people still get it wrong. If you're a wizz at getting the suspension right then good for you. The ladies on the production line used to need around five minutes on each I read somewhere..

In my experience over the years, for best sonics off your records, I'd much rather have a Systemdek IIX, CJ55, TT2, Legend, Mantra, as these springy belt drives do seem to get more for the emotions to chew on off a record. My own donated TD160 still lies sulking up in the loft, awaiting a plug for my SME but even then, I don't hold too much hope for it. Sorry, I feel that spending over£50 on a fancy mat is just throwing money away on one of these since with the total expense, I think you could have got summat better from the next tier up the vinyl ladder......