The dollar price has yet to be announced. Fitted with the Ortofon 2M Blue, the TD 403 DD will retail for 1399 Euros. Both turntables include dustcover and RCA cables. The new 403 DD also features the new TP 150 arm and will also be available December in either high gloss walnut or black. The new 403 DD features the same direct drive mechanism found in the TD402 DD but features a more massive 3 pound cast aluminum platter similar if not identical to the one found on the new TD1500. The price in dollars has yet to be announced.
The TD 1500 will be available in December in high gloss walnut or black for 1999 Euros. Thorens supplies the new 'table with an Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge. The 'table features the new height and azimuth adjustable TP 150 tone arm fitted with a standard SME-type head shell connector. The 1500's three conical springs can be adjusted from above without having to remove the 3 pound cast aluminum platter driven by an electronically controlled DC motor. The TD403 is the "big brother" of the recently introduced TD 402. However, the AR-XA introduced in 1961 had this design feature and sold 100s of 1000s so must be considered "mass produced". The 1500 takes its design cues from the iconic TD 150 introduced in 1965 that according to Thorens's press release featured for the first time in a mass produced turntable a spring suspended sub-chassis with a flat belt driven inner platter. Especially when they take me further toward audio nirvana.Thorens today announced two new turntables: the TD1500 and the TD403. It has an effective mass of 14 grams, is adjustable in height and azimuth and is equipped with a standard SME connector, so headshells can easily be switched or other cartridges mounted. So that just may be my path over the next few years.įor me, I always need to keep trying new combinations. The new TP 150 tonearm is similar to the TP 124 used on the new TD 124 DD. Reasonable priced with excellent reviews all over the web. I haven't decided on the arm yet, but popular opinion favors the Schick tonearm. Once the dust has settled I will turn back to the Thorens and look into doing a proper 12 inch arm and SPU cartridge. I have an SP10 mkII project in the works. Then, one day, I wondered about trying the Graham 2.2 again. Vintage AR and Thorens Turntable Sales, Parts, and Restorations. Pristine Thorens TD-160 Super in Solid Brazilian Cherry w/SME 3009 Tonearm, Extras. But energy levels were higher than with the Denon, as was detail retrieval. Another Turntable Offering: Pristine Thorens TD-160 Super Reproduction in Solid Brazilian Cherry w/SME 3009 Tonearm, Extras, Why buy a restored vintage.
Oh boy! Another couple of levels better than with the Dl-103R. After getting the Shelter back I put that on the Zeta. Then I managed to find someone who could re-furbish my Shelter 501-II cartridge. Nearly as much detail retrieval as with the Graham, but with an excellent "jump factor" and energy delivery. I used the wood bodied DL-103R on that for a few years. Then I tried a Zeta tonearm that had the wires upgraded with an Incognito harness. But it was also quite a bit more "polite" sounding. It certainly looked a lot deeper into the groove and extracted more detail than did the RB250/DL103R setup. I had the Graham on a Teres 145, and just wanted to know if the arm would "work" on a TD124. Then I tried, just for kicks, a Graham 2.2 tonearm with Ortofon Jubilee MC cartridge.
I fiddled around with headweights to get the mass higher on the Rega to suit the Denon. Then a SS ruby cantilever/Fineline styus.
Thorens turntable with sme tonearm mods#
Then I made some mods to the Denon to get more SQ out of it. The first arm I tried was an Expressimo modified Rega RB250 tonearm. This is the story of one restoration of a 40+ year old turntable, with an SME 3009 II tonearm. This made a significant difference in signal/noise ratio and the amount of fine detail this TT can reproduce. The Thorens TD125 is a vintage classic still in demand among vinyl record enthusiasts today. I've been spinning records on an early TD124 (sn 2729) with three different arms and a few different cartridges.Īpart from the arms and cartridges, I should point out that the turntable became a lot more interesting after I had upgraded the motor mounts from mk1 to a mkII configuration.