Thorens Turntables

Thorens has been around longer than many of us.  They are Swiss, make excellent tables (depending on the model) and stand behind their products.  ALL of their products.  Their TD-124 is legendary and a very good performer.  

It's hard to tell how a specific table on a custom plinth will sound.

The Company is Art and Sound
.

I owned the TD-166 MkII. Belt drive, rosewood finish. I sold it and bought a VPI HW-19 Jr.  Back then I was selling things in order to justify buying new equipment.  

I wish I still had that Thorens.   The VPI not so much.  

Can't agree more. I have a restored Empire 208 its sounds better than many of the newer tables I have purchased over the years.

I just bought a new Thorens table (PD-203). The price was reduced a lot (to US $699) and the lower quality cartridge it comes with was replaced by the Ortogon 2M Blue. The cart may not be broken in yet and sounds a little too strong in the treble range. But details are excellent. Very dependent on the individual record, some sound great, others less so. There’s a debate about whether it’s made in China. Not mentioned at all on the table or package, but one New Zealand Thorens dealer says so on his website. The Thorens tech at the Thorens US distributor swore it was not made in China. Anyway, it doesn’t bother me too much if it is and it explains the price drop.