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Thread: Thinking about getting a TD125 any advice?

  1. #1
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

    Posts: 2,734
    I'm Mike.

    Default Thinking about getting a TD125 any advice?

    I bought a TD160 last year and have enjoyed working on it to a point where now it is in my opinion almost as good as new, sonically it's not as clinical as my other deck but it gets your foot tapping and brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the music. At the moment i'm bored senseless and need another little project to be getting on with, so i've decided to get another old deck to update and upgrade and i've been thinking about a TD125.

    i know very little about these decks other than they succeeded the TD124 and they don't seem overly popular, i guess when they came out the Linn LP12 was the obvious choice and from what i've seen considerably cheaper than the TD125 at that time, anyway any useful bits of advice, things to improve, look for, avoid etc. would be very helpful.


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    Looks nice, but all it offers over a TD160 really is complexity and sometimes unreliable electronics.

    Spend half as much on an unmolested TD150 instead and relax with some seriously decent sounds. They sound even better than the TD160 in my opinion.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  3. #3
    Join Date: Apr 2009

    Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex

    Posts: 7,087
    I'm Dave.

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    TD 124 is the best out of that list by quite a margin.

  4. #4
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    Not cheap though. Nor are parts.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  5. #5
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

    Posts: 2,734
    I'm Mike.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hifi_dave View Post
    TD 124 is the best out of that list by quite a margin.
    Which is strange coz the 125 outperforms the 124 on paper in every aspect


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  6. #6
    Join Date: Feb 2020

    Location: Fife, Scotland

    Posts: 160
    I'm Gordon.

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    Hi fi shows (Heathrow and others) in the very early seventies used virtually nothing but the 125 / SME. These looked wonderful and performed perfectly. Looked even better if fitted in the SME plinth of the day.....I don't remember LP12s being in evidence at the time at all. There were a number of different TTs on the market at the time, but the 125 was invariably the 'weapon of choice'.

    Despite being unfamiliar with the technicalities, the combination of 125 / SME / SME was very aspirational.
    Last edited by WullieD20; 21-02-2021 at 09:25.
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  7. #7
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: Liverpool, UK.

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    I'm Geoff.

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    Brilliant decks and, imo, better than the 124 which is also a really good deck.

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    Main system: Sony TTS8000; AT1010; Audio Technica Art1; The Lentek; Cambridge 851n, Yamaha NS1000.
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  8. #8
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

    Posts: 2,734
    I'm Mike.

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    Like i said i'm looking for a little project and the TD125 looked like a candidate, i was thinking of getting rid of the 70's chipboard plinth for something a bit more substantial, sorting out the old motor control board and either replacing worn out caps and resistors or dropping in a brand new board, damping the floating top plate with cork, maybe have the top plate re painted and finally replace the old springs. looking at photos of the internals from the underside it looks like it has a transformer in there to drop the voltage and i'm wondering if housing that and it's associated circuit board in it own external metal case will bring any benefits, as i've said any advice is most welcome.


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  9. #9
    Join Date: Jul 2009

    Location: Hampshire, UK

    Posts: 3,662
    I'm Adam.

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    Quote Originally Posted by walpurgis View Post
    Spend half as much on an unmolested TD150 instead and relax with some seriously decent sounds. They sound even better than the TD160 in my opinion.
    ^^^This^^^

    I’ve owned two TD125s and was spectacularly underwhelmed by both. In fact, I bought the second, minty one as I assumed that the reason the first one was so dreary was that it was completely knackered when it arrived with me and needed some serious repairs to get it going again.

    It wasn’t...
    Engineers: fixing problems you didn't know you had in ways you don't understand.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

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    I'm Grant.

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    yeah a nice 150 is a great deck. not a lot of difference to the 160 looks wise tho.
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