I bought a TD-160 Super about six months ago as a starter table. Pretty easy to own and work on. You can make lots of chasis adjustment with basic tools. I've listened recently to a couple of other decks and by comparison the TD-160 lacks some solidity and refinement, but in general I'm happy with it, understanding of course that it will not be the last table I own. And as you point out, they can he had cheap. The nice thing about the 160, as opposed to - I think - both the 145 and the 166, is that it has an all metal platter assembly. I believe the others have a plastic center wheel. Also, if you get a 160, make sure you get a unit that has the little metal post next to the motor, otherwise the sprung platter can bounce down onto the motor pully and bend the drive shaft. Very early TD-160s did not have the guard. When I got my TT the springs were out of whack and the platter was actually grinding on that little post. Had the post not been there it would have been riding against the pully and that would have been the end of that.
A newby to Turntables -- Linn - Thorens
I'm looking at few tables in the $200 to $500 range. In the running is a Thorens 166, 145, 160, or an original 1974 Linn LP12. I believe the Linn is the higher-end table but it seems to be very complex in maintenance, set up and tweaking. Do the Linn's actually require monthly and yearly set up and constant tweaking to perform well?