BigBusa Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I'm going to check out a TD 126 mk3 w/SME arm tonight. Original owner says it is like new with very few hours on it but no cart. He was hesitant to give a price over the phone ...wants me to come see it. Ebays prices are all over the place on the Thorens 126. Orion says it was $1200 new and is worth $350 now. Without a cart what is this really worth? What would you pay? His whole system is for sale but I'm only after the TT. Hafler DH-500 amp, Yamaha C-70 pre-amp, Kenwood KT-8LS tuner, Nakamichi 581Z, Sony cassette, Sony CDP-690 CD player, Thorens TD126MK3 w/SME ARM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 BigBusa, I am starting to detect a "this will soon be for sale but right now I will make it look like I want to buy it" tinge to your posts. Tell me it's not true. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted October 14, 2003 Author Share Posted October 14, 2003 MH, If I have something on ebay or an item about to go on ebay and I feel the need to post it here I'll make no bones about it. I'll just post it and say it's for sale. Everyone else does. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've decided to update/upgrade my entire system with the arrival of the khorns. And yes, the big amps are staying! If I buy this TD126MK3 my other TT (JVC) will be for sale but not the thorens. I've always liked the look of the thorens TTs and I know many people think they're one of the better brands availible. I have never seen one in person or heard one. I am also in the process of buying for my system a revox preamp and tuner. So my Nad preamp and my carver tuner will end up for sale at some point in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I think amost any of the well set-up, fully functional Thorens will better even the battleship direct drive tables, purely from a design standpoint. A good Thorens will better your Denon (not really a JVC) but will need to be looked at carefully. There is a TON of upgrade material for the better Thorens options. With Thorens, some models are MUCH better than others and some achieved cult status ie TD-124 etc. TAlk to your old buddy Allan for TD-124 info! heh. There are a LOAD of pictures of TD-126MkIII in the link below. If getting a Thorens, bookmark this site for good info and comments: The Analog Dept - Thorens Section kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I've had Thorens tables for years, and have been quite happy with them - except for a 160 which had the worst suspension I've ever seen - you could make the arm hop out of the groove from across the room by waving your hand. (It was on a wood floor, but still...) My 126, which I inheirited from my dad, won't work with an Ortofon moving coil cartridge - it picks up hum as it moves towards the center of the record. This surprised me, as I'd used the same cartridge in a 125 with no problem. It may have something to do with the automatic arm lift, but I haven't gotten around to looking into it further. My 124 certainly had panache - and an enormously heavy platter. It also had a Rabco arm and picked up speed as it ran. Has anyone in the last 30 years been able to make that record-cue drop the top shell on the bottom platter arrangement work? I also had a Thorens 224. What a concept - unless you object to your lps in free-fall. Still, it was fun to watch it change records on those odd occasions where it actually worked. I digress. The 126 is a good, solid table, but the 125 is generally considered to have a slight edge in sound quality. In any event - you'll probably want a new mat for it. I remember in the seventies one of the "hot rods" was to turn the mat upside down. Something about air pockets under the record causing resonances. (I was told this by the same guys who suggested bypassing the tone controls on the Audio Researh SP-3 and then turning them fully counter-clockwise.) The tweaks on that website look promising - I've stumbled on to a few of them myself. Thanks for posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 More on the subject-fair price depends a lot on which SME arm. Check the completed sales on ebay to see what they're bringing. I'd suspect a $275-325 price would be reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Hello: Through my Audio career I have 95 % of the time heard good things regarding Thorens. The other 5 % was usually an easy fix. They were built to last, and to accept good cartridges. The hum mentioned above may have been a loose wire that reached its limit when nearing the center. dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 The TD-124 "platter lifter" is something that should be bypassed at all costs! I use sorbothane between the inner and outer platter thereby coupling them together. The TD-124 takes about 10-15 minutes to stabilize at speed and then should be DEAD ON for as long as you leave it on. EVERYTHING has to be ship-shape for the TD-124 to work properly and I can't think of a worse arm than a RABCO for this table! You need a 12" SME or FR or Ortofon to really make these tables work. I love the TD-124--remember I was a SOTA/Linn devotee for MANY years before buying a 124 on a whim. When I finaly got it dialed in I never went back to the Linn--there's something about the TD-124 that is magic to my ears--music just come ALIVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Hello: Agree with Allen on lifter. To AllAn: Do you use an Ortofon catridge? Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 My TD125 is involving to the point of orgasm. Once upon a time the TD125 + SME 3009 arm was the combo to have. Allan, what's this about coupling the inner and outer platters? Mine just sit one atop the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Been using Ortofon SPUs for more than a decade. Currently using a 1960's vintage SPU-GT E. Magic---pure magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Allan, Do you know this site? http://www.xs4all.nl/~rabruil/td124page.html , it has some useful info on the TD124. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 On the TD-124, it's not an inner and outer platter - it's an upper and lower. There was a thin aluminum (?) platter which rested on top of the main heavy platter. The idea was that the main platter was so heavy it couldn't get up to speed fast enough to be used for radio station and theatre use. So Thorens fitted the thin platter on top and put a lift mechanism on it, so you could (in theory)stop both platters, set the stylus on the record and cue it up by rocking the platter back and forth - talk about something rough on equipment - then lift the top platter an 1/8" or so with the stylus still sitting on the record, start the heavier main platter underneath it, and, when the main platter was up to speed, gently ease the top platter down on top of it. It would then presumably start right away with no thump and the record exactly cued up. In practice you had to have a very deft touch. Most often the platter would drop, while the arm-inertia being what it is-would hang in mid air for a split second and then come down with a THUMP - usually two or three grooves to the outside of where you'd left it. You can see why this idea never really caught on. The 125 platter is a completely different design - a doughnut on a central hub. The Rabco didn't stay on my 124 very long - it's the only tone arm I ever punched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I have been using for many years a Thorens TD 125 mark II with Infinity black widow tone arm and Ortofon cart. I have been thinking of getting a good Grado cart for it one of the better wood based ones. Many a pair of khorns here in Mass were orig sold with Thorens TD 124,125 and 126 tables. the old Music box hi fi store loved the Thorens table with khorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 The thing about the wood Grados is you need to screw in from the top, which is not practical with a Thorens headshell. Maybe there is a way around this? Like mount the cartridge upside down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudret Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Allan, I am tempted to give it a try, but Ortofon SPU costs twice more than my tt. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3051396166&category=3284 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I've been running a Rek-o-Kut tone arm with a GE VRII cartridge on my TD124 and have been quite happy with it. Old school cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Randy: I bought a spare Thorens headshell, and modified it to use with any cartridge I wanted. You have to pop the metal "logo" plate off the top. Below that there is a metal slider that also can be removed. What is left is the Thorens headshell with "standard" mounting holes that will accept a wide variety of cartridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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