The platter itself, which weighsġ.4 kg and is 22 mm thick, is made of cast aluminum with a ground edge and turns its rounds in a bearing with a Delrin trust bearing, which guarantees enormously smooth running. The platter does not have to be removed for this. In contrast to the TD 150, these springs can be adjusted from above through corresponding holes in the platter, which makes correct adjustment much easier. The motor and frame by means of three conical springs. Like its famous predecessor, the new Thorens TD 1500, which will be operated purely manually, features a sub-chas- sis that decouples the turntable and tonearm shelf from Picking up on this historic milestone, Thorens is introducing a new model in 2021, the TD 1500, which is very much in the tradition of its legendary predecessor but utilizes 21st century technologies. The princi- ple proved to be very successful and found many imitators in the years since.Įven today, more than half a century later, old TD 150 mod- els still enjoy great popularity. For the first time,Ī spring-suspended sub-chassis with an inner platter driven by a flat belt was used in a mass-produced unit. In 1965, the Thorens TD 150, an inconspicuous little turn- table, came on the market and thus started a technical revolution in record player manufacturing. The TOD 403 DD is the bigger brother of the very successful TD 402 DD and also comes with the new TP150 tonearm and a pre-installed Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. If it's in top notch condition and the price is the same as the others this might be the best of the bunch.The completely newly designed Thorens TD 1500 turntable is the smaller brother of the TD 1600 and comes with a newly developed TP150 tonearm and a pre-installed Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge.
But as with all things analog this is a very personal decision. I can see someone taking the trouble for a TD125 or TD126, not so much with a TD115. Personally I'm weary of electronics as there's not much to do when they break and it can be a nightmare to repair, find the right parts, etc. It's as big as their TD126, has extensive use of electronics such as speed control etc, but it's also made of a lot of plastic and a lower grade tonearm to keep costs down. It's from the 70's when Thorens was still promoting their TOTL TD126 and their mid-priced TD160, but they wanted to stay competitive with the new electronic tables so they introduced a mid-priced "mini TD126". Get this one if you're a hipster who doesn't want to have the same as everybody else. Thorens TD115 - this is the true Black sheep. There isn't much modding potential in a TD320, but in stock form it should be as good as (or better) than the TD160. So if the TD318 mki or mkii are cheaper than the TD160/145, and if you're looking for an easy, set and forget table, I say go for it. Having said that, they are still really good tables and a much better buy than many tables from the 80's that seem to go for 150-200€ these days. Those models are from Thorens' declining years, they're not as well built, make more use of plastic and cheaper parts and don't have as sophisticated mechanisms as the former models.
The TD318 is the semi-automatic version of the TD320. Google "modded Thorens" or check out the "Pictures of your Thorens" thread here if you want to see what the buzz is all about.
THORENS TURNTABLE WITH SME TONEARM UPGRADE
And it's cheap and easy to modify, too, so it's a perfect candidate to upgrade as funds allow and get an amazing table for not too much money.
It's old, probably needs a bit of maintenance and it's kind of fiddly to set up, but once it's up and running it will sound better than most tables out there and will last you a lifetime. The TD160/145 is one of the highly sought-after classic Thorens models. If the TD160 is cheaper than the TD145 (or if you're planning of swapping the tonearm) then pick the TD160. The TD145 isn't as well-known as the TD160 so should be available for a bit less than the TD160, but it's actually a better version (back then automatic functions were a big plus).