Experience with Sme 20/2 MKII or Thorens

[Travis In Austin]

Does anyone own a SME 20/2, there is one for sale on Audiogon that is about 10 minutes from me.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1145839590

There is also a Thorens TD-850 for sale by another guy I have done business with here in Austin.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1144179705

Just wanted to see if anyone had any firsthand experience with either of these TT, I am looking to upgrade what I have now, just not sure how much I want to upgrade.

There is a Basis Debut Signature Vacuum w/ vector lll arm down the road, but for 13.5K I don't think I want to upgrade that much.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1145386222

Any thoughts?

Travis

[LarryC]

I certainly don't blame you on the $13.5K, but note that the Basis includes the Vector 3 tonearm, which seems to be one of the finest around today. The Vector with the included VTA adjuster runs at least $3,700. The VTA can be done without the $700-$800 adjuster, but is more of a trial-and-error process.

I'm not sure what adds up to $20K new, unless the vacuum and cable isolator are even pricier than I thought. Perhaps you could ask him and see if he's ready to take less.

Larry

[dubai2000]

If Thorens I'd certainly go for a vintage TT. Let's face it: today's Thorens players have not much (if anything) to do with those TTs that made their name in the past. Those older models might look 'simple' in comparison to modern TTs, but -and this has been debated in an analogue forum here in Germany many times- in terms of built quality the following has been suggested by a former Thorens employee who seems to know what he is talking about:

TD 520/1

TD 127 (rare)

TD 126 (preferred as MK II or IV)

TD 125 MK II

TD 320 II (not III)

TD 2001

and I'd also include the TD 150....yes, that's the table Linn has copied (by and large) and turned into the LP12.

Add a nice arm to any of the above TTs and you'll be able to enjoy music.

Sure, the SME mentioned above seems to be a nice table too (and so is the SME V arm) but IMO really excellent vinyl playback can be achieved for less.

....oh, and of course there's the famous TD124, but then it might be useful to know how to bring those beauties up to specs.....but I am sure all this info is available online.

Of course I know most people around here choose different models/manufacturers as their favourite TTs, but after all someone has to offer a different perspective......at least every now and then [].

Wolfram