Quote Originally Posted by montesquieu View Post

You read it here first - Thorens are reissuing the TD124, though disappointingly as direct drive rather than as an idler. I didn't get an idea of price but it's sure to be cheaper than the £17k reissue of the Garrard 301. The Thorens reissue misses the point - even as a Thorens owner I see it as an ugly duckling compared to the Garrard 301 and 401, but it routinely out performs both especially in Schopper form. It's not the looks that made it popular. It's interesting that new owners SME went for the 301 as a reissue over the 401, again all other things being equal (and both can be extensively improved from standard) the 401 is the better machine, but the 301 is such a beauty ...


Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder - I love the looks of the TD124/II and have three of them. The only 301 I like the look of is the original grey hammertone finish version.

Is the Thorens shown in the picture the new direct drive offering? TD124/III ? And is the arm a revamped BD-12S or a revamped EMT 929? Both are, IMO, somewhat 'agricultural' in their construction and performance, and I would hope and expect the new arm to be much improved.