$75 Thorens vs. $2K+ Michell...is this possible?


Hi all,

I've had my first turntable ever (a Michell Tecnodec purchased used with a Benz Glider medium ouput purchased new) for a couple of months now, and although it has sounded good at times and sometimes even great, overall it hasn't been what I've expected based upon the reputation that vinyl has over digital. Sometimes my table sounds smothered or rolled off in the highs, and sometimes I hear what I can best describe as noise/static/distortion on vocals when they get loud. Things have gotten a bit better with what I assume is break-in of the cartridge and some minor tweaking of VTA.

Yesterday, I purchased a well used Thorens TD 160 with an Audio Technica AT125LC. The cartridge is riding so low (I assume from use) that at times the body rubs on the record surface. I haven't had the time to do extensive direct comparisons, but the essence of what I expected from vinyl is here with the Thorens. An overall smooth, natural coherence that is emminently enjoyable to listen to. Natural, airy highs. Solid, but not overdone firm bass.

Again, I have not done direct comparisons, but I don't hear any of the downsided I heard with my Michell. There may not be quite the detail or soundstage width, but I feel like it's an overall more enjoyable listening experience.

I'd love input from the more experienced here to help me understand what's happening here.

Thanks much,
Paul
pj234

Showing 2 responses by pj234

Thanks for all of the great replies...keep them coming!

To answer some of the questions above, I'm using a Monolithic phono stage which was a distinct improvement over the built-in stage of the MF preamp I had. The input resistance sounds best to me (with Glider) at 1K and high gain setting. I changed it to 47K and medium gain for the AT/Thorens combo.

I bought the Michell used, but bought the Glider new from a dealer because I wanted it set up professionally (again being new to vinyl, I wanted the best chance of initial success so that I would give the format a fair shake.) It is placed on a sand box type isolation platform, and the Thorens is temporarily perched on an adjacent bookshelf.

I've thought about swapping the cartridges to compare, but I'm not that confident in being able to set them up properly.

How much time does it realistically take to break in a new cartridge? Is it possible I haven't given the Benz enough time (I'm guesstimating 20-40 hours total so far?)

If I were to keep the Thorens and sell the Michell, would the Glider be a good match for the table? Is it possible that a high output MM cartridge sounds better to me because of it's higher signal to noise ratio?
I've really enjoyed everyone's responses, and I had no intention of starting any kind of heated debate, so I hope things don't go that way.

Again, I'd like to stress that I haven't had time to do any extended listening or direct comparisons between the 2 setups, but I was shocked by some of the fundamental characteristics I heard from my 75 buck Thorens that I have maybe not heard (or not heard consistently) from the TD. I should have time this weekend for more extensive evaluation...perhaps it was largely a matter of very low expectations from a $75 dollar purchase that my expectations were greatly exceeded.

I had a local dealer that was recommended in a previous post of mine(I live in Phoenix area) install the cartridge. I normally prefer to buy used to save money/get more for my money, but again I wanted to know that it was done right. Perhaps this did not happen after all. I also wonder if a different cartridge than the Glider would make me happy. I normally prefer realism to extreme high frequency extension and my ears can get sensitive to that kind of reproduction, but the Benz sounds very rolled off (again, I realize this could be setup.) Also per my recollection, the Michell/Benz combo also sounds a little light in the bass.

Finally, I realized why my low-rider AT cartridge was rubbing the surface of the record...there was 3 gr of tracking force set on the arm. I'd say it's safe to say the setup on the Thorens deck has not been exactly ideal either.