Interest check: CliveG's Schopper Thorens TD-124 mkII
Well, here's something rather special, just in time for Christmas...
This is the Schopper'd Thorens TD-124 mkII that belonged to the late CliveG, who was well known here on AoS.
It has been written about in quite some detail by AoS member Ked/Bonzo on the Zero Distortion blog, who preferred it to a Shindo Garrard 301. That's high praise indeed. You can read those posts here:
http://zero-distortion.org/schopper-thorens-124/
http://zero-distortion.org/more-on-r...d-thorens-124/
I came by the deck via Hifi Tradingstation, after Clive's passing in 2020. It's the full Schopper-modded 124 mkII, costing around 9k Euros new, with all the upgrades available including the Schopper-manufactured bronze platter, which I believe they are no longer making, and the custom Schopper PS-1 mkIV external power supply, which also seems to be unobtainium at the moment.
This is from an email I received from Schopper, when asking about the turntable's history: "Congratulations! This TD 124 is upgraded to the highest possible standart (sic). It has a new paint in original colour which makes it looks like new. And the non magnetic Schopper bronze main platter. A new aluminium top platter. A new main platter bearing. And the solid wood console. There are no further upgrades that you would need."
On the downside, the Schopper piano-finish solid plinth is not entirely in mint condition. A previous owner (I assume Clive?) has hacked away a bit internally in order to accommodate a particular tonearm, it seems, and also splintered the finish underneath to fit some feet or cones. However, none of this unfortunate damage shows when the deck is set up as normal, as it's all internal or hidden away underneath. I have included photos of the damage. If you wanted to replace it that would be possible, but really not necessary. I believe these solid plinths are still offered by Schopper, at a cost of approx £800.
The metal turntable-body itself, main platter, top platter and bearing are all in mint condition.
I ran the deck for a while, with an Audio Creative Groovemaster tonearm (also available by separate sale), but I eventually went back to my beloved Garrard 401. Since then the deck has been boxed up in storage. Earlier this year the deck was sent to Hanze HiFi in the Netherlands for a complete check-over and service. Since then I have not re-assembled it, as I didn't want to risk putting anything out of balance before a potential sale, so the deck is still securely packed just as I received it back from Hanze, and will ship in the same box, as pictured.
The other pics, showing the deck assembled etc, are from the original ad. The perspex cover and very heavy wooden base are included in the sale, if wanted. Please note that the tonearm pictured in the ad photos is NOT included in this sale.
Also included are 2 brand new Schopper de-coupled armboards, unused, with the rubber grommets for de-coupling from the deck. One is for 12" tonearms and the other for 9", so all possibilities are covered. There are also a couple of spare third-party 9" armboards.
I'm asking £4k for everything (shipping cost not included). At that price I'm taking quite a loss from what I've invested in this deck, but I feel someone should be using and enjoying it, and it's doing no-one any good sitting packed away in storage, so priced to sell. I'm in East Sussex/London area if anyone would rather collect and save the shipping cost.
A beautiful example of a classic turntable, fully upgraded by the experts, with custom external power supply. Chances are you won't see another one like this, and certainly not at this price.
Feel free to ask any questions etc.
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