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Used Thorens TD165: worth my dough???

a friend at a local vinyl shop i frequent has a thorens td165 he's willing to part with. he's asking about $100 which seems reasonable.
my questions is: do you think i can realize significant improvement in playback over what i am using now, a dd kenwood, only about 5 years younger than the thorens. the thorens is belt driven and suspended whereas my kenwood is not. i plan on listening to the thorens as soon as possible to compare to my rig, but can anyone offer their 2 cents here.
my thoughts are the following: belt drive plus suspended table will definitely better my dd, nonsuspended plastic kenwood. the thorens has seen better days cosmetically, but i think i can cope. for 20 yrs old it seems like its in decent shape.
one last thing, how difficult will the setup be re: suspension and leveling? have no experience here, but consider myself a quick learner.
thanks as always
fujindemon

Showing 2 responses by acatnthehat

acatnthehat
13 posts
 
I've got a TD125 MK II that I've owned since 1977 or so. Back then we both were NIB. The spring suspension is a pain in the rear to adjust but patience wins out. Leveling is 75 percent accomplished if you handle the suspension properly. But the devil is in the details. The condition and adjustment of the tonearm and cartridge are key to sound and preservation of the LP's. My advice is to buy up all the pristine LP's you can afford and wait to play them until you can get a better turntable. You can spend lots of time and money on that Thornes. But, here's a link to help you out just in case you decide to ignore my sage advice! ;-)

http://www.turntablebasics.com/index.html
acatnthehat
13 posts
 
I think if you are very careful you'll be ok with the 165 as long as the tone arm and cartridge is in good shape and care is taken in adjusting them. My thoughts on LP's in general make me err on the side of cautiousness. Every time you play one it's like taking a breath; it's one you'll never get back. On the other hand, play your recording and enjoy them. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
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