Extraordinary build quality and durability; resistance to mechanical and acoustic feedback; crispness of controls; well-designed subchassis suspension; impeccable looks!

The two pieces of the cast aluminum platter should fit together tighter; under certain circumstances, the platter rings

In 1974 I bought new a Thorens TD 125B Mk II with removeable dustcover and SME 3009 Type II Improved arm with non-detachable headshell. It gave impeccable service with a wide variety of cartridges. But I got stupidly got "bored" with it in 1987 and traded it in on a B&O 8002 with the MM1 cartridge. I was taken in by the sleek appearance and operation of the straight-line tone arm. By 1999 the B&O had cratered due a bad chip somewhere, so I bought a Pro-Ject 6.1 with the Sumiko Blue Point cartridge. Although that combination had a very accurate sound, something was missing. So I started looking around for another Thorens TD 125 with SME arm, and got lucky about a month ago and found one for sale on this web site. I have now done a thorough tewaking and "reinstallation" of my favorite turntable, and am delighted to have my old friend back. I plan to keep it forever.

Similar Products Used:

Pro-Ject Model 6.1 (one-year); B&O Model 8002 (1987-1999)

Suspension, Speed stability, quiet

tonearm

OK - I recently swapped out the original Thorens arm for an SME 3009 and I have to revisit my earlier review.

The SME has changed everything! My LPs have never sounded so alive. The difference in coherence is nothing short of incredible. The soundstage is exponentially larger and and the instrument detail is now very precise. Even with an MSB Link DAC, my CDs sound thin and pale by comparison. It's now very clear why you see so many Thorens TD 125s with SME arms - it's a great combination and a natural match.

If you own a Thorens table, I strongly recommend that you lose the garbage stock tonearm and opt for a high-end alternative, like and SME!!

Excellent build quality. Great speed stability. Decent tonearm.

Suspension does not isolate from shock very well.

This was an Ebay pickup and it arrived in horrible shape - the platter rubbed on the base, the suspension was shot, and the dustcover was shattered. After weeks of tinkering, I finally got it to work well enough to do some critical listening with an Ortofon MC cartridge.

The bad news - I don't care for the suspension. It's difficult to adjust properly and it does not handle shock very well. It's also very difficult to level the table since the adjusters require turning the table over.

The good news - speed is rock solid and stable. The adjustable pitch control is among the best I've seen complete with the cool orange florescent readout via a small window in the base. The arm is easy to adjust and fairly lightweight. Motor noise is undetectable.

What brought the table to life, however, was the arm height adjustment. I never realized how critical VTA was until I experimented with this table. Thorens makes it very easy to adjust the arm height (unlike their suspension!) and the changes in soundstage and definition are remarkable!! After some tinkering, I found the infamous "sweet spot" and the turntable made my records sound unbelievable!! My CD player now sounds flat and dead in comparison!!

I also replaced the Thorens tonearm cables with a high-end Monster cable interconnect. This helped to improve mid range definition - a recommended modification since the 1979 cables are pretty lame by today's standards.

If you see one of these on the market, give it a try. The build quality is very good and you'll likely get years of continued use. But be prepared to tinker to maximize performance, particularly on the arm height adjustments and the suspension. Once you finally have everything properly adjusted however, you'll have a very impressive sounding turntable!!

Similar Products Used:

Thorens TD165, B&O 4200, Dual tables