Thorens TD 190-1 TurnTables Reviews

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I've had the unit about five years. It doesn't get much use, maybe one hundred hours a year in the past. It won't get any more use. After replacing the power supply a year ago, the motor has died. I've chosen to add it to the local landfill. The headshell never held my Shure V-15 very well and I had to reset it after four or so hours of play. An expensive disappointment. So much for Thorens' reputation. I'm going back to Technics' products which has givien me decades of trouble free service.

Price Paid:  $498.00 from OneCall.com

Summary:
Thorens TD190-1: Turntable is built exactly as the Dual CS455-1. The only changes is the speed selector is located on the front left corner of the unit. The TD190-1 also has record size selector unlike the CS455-1. The headshell of the TD190-1 is longer than the CS455-1.
The motor is strong with quick startup and keeps perfect stable rotation of the platter. The platter is dampened to reduce or eliminate resonance.
The automatic operation is quiet with only a couple small clicks. Operation is very simple and straight forward.
Nice turntable but a little over priced for what it is and offers.

Strengths:
For today's fully automatic turntable's? Great turntable to buy! The Tonearm tracks excellent, the motor is strong and maintains perfect rotation. Thorens excellent reputation.

Weaknesses:
For the price I paid $498.00 I would expect a little more. The start/stop switch and record size selector switch feels weak with a little bit of "Cheap" feeling to them. I would expect a little less plastic and more light weight aluminum pieces used. But I guess I'm "Old School" and I'm used to older Dual units.
One thing that I was very disappointed with was the adjustments I had to make. Luckly I've worked on Dual tables quite a bit in the past and was able to make the adjustments. Tonearm set down point was out of adjustment. Pitch was off by +3% This required adjusting the motor speed directly. (Motor has a "Dual" sticker on it). Cartridge mounted by the factory was out of alignment. Other than that, not a bad unit.

Similar Products Used:
Dual CS-741Q
Dual CS-1264 (Currently using along with the Thorens TD190-1)
Dual CS-620
Dual CS-1241
Dual CS-1219
Dual CS-455-1

glrickaby

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $299.00 from J & R Music World

Summary:
This unit is essentially the same as the Dual CS455 with the exception of the 78rpm option and the base is squared a little differently. Both units probably come out of the same Dual/Thorens factory. Dual offers a "gold" model while Thorens does not. The tone arm is a light weight tube with the removable Dual cartridge head. The Thorens uses a longer cartridge head than the Dual but both are inter-changable, provided the "set down" cam is adjusted through the hole on the top of the unit between the switches and the tone arm mount. The owner's manual is mute about any "set down" adjustment and my unit arrived with the OM10 cartridge requiring such adjustment. Fortunately, I previously owned a Dual CS455 and was familiar with this issue. The tonearm matches well with the Ortofon OM series and also the Audio Technica units which both work well on a lighter tonearm. It will play the heavier and bulkier cartridges like the Denon DL103 and the Grado Woods but does not seem to bring out the best in these units. It is fairly quiet except for the usual noise of the automatic changer. Compared to other units available in the same list price ($599.00)range, the Music Hall MMF5 is a better sounding turntable,(I own this also), but again, is not an auto- changer. It is clearly a step up from the new automatic units widely available on the net but not of the same quality as the older Duals or Thorens units. The motor is a DC 12 volt with an oversize converter plug. The suspension is stiff but overall, wow and rumble are not noticable and the figures are not published. I use this as a second turntable because of the automatic shut off feature which my MMF5 does not have.

Strengths:
Reasonably well built with dependable operation. Good sound with an upgraded and properly matched cartridge. matched cartridge.

Weaknesses:
Except for the automatic feature, does not compete well with similar priced manual units. Not an audiophile unit.

Similar Products Used:
Music Hall MMF5, Denon DP47F, Dual CS455, various 1200 series Duals and a couple of Panasonic Linear drive units.

Summary:
Overall a very good TT except for the lack of isolation feet. Has good detail & soundstage. Also the platter suspention is very stiff. It has simple but nice looks, with all black, textured finish.

Strengths:
solid build quality, smooth operation

Weaknesses:
no isolation feet, poor suspention of platter

Similar Products Used:
Dual 604