New Thorens 900 series reference turntables

From that picture,it looks like it's double isolated.

 

Eyesore.

 

You guys really annoy me. So you do not like that white wooden plinth. Yikes, what a disaster. i am sure you can get it in back, oak or even TEAC or Mahagony . The fact you resist to see is that the table itself is as close to the old suspened master pieces of yesteryears. You know how crazy prices are today for high quality TT. There are a lot worse looking, that cost two or three times as much. fact is the old models were cheaper because they sold tens of thousands from each and so mass production helped lowering costs. Plus the money was a lot more valuable as today and there were hardy any regular tables made for the masses that costed more than 1 grand with a good cart pre-installed. If you want a stylish and beautiful table get a TD 550 or a 325 / 20/25 with acryl platters. If you want a clever suspended TT get the TD 309. EISA winner and a real THORENs brainchild with an excellent tonearm and fantastic sound. If you hate the swiss shield size get a TD 206 likei did and you get the best TT this side of 1 grand with a killer tonearm, that beats even the RB 301 nd costs 800 Euro as a stand alone model.
Automatic speed change, adjustable height of the platter and tonearm, Azimuth and VTA adjustable plus magnetic antiskating, Runs ABSOLUTELY quiet and lets you hear deep into the usic unlike the average player of that price range. German engineering and manufacturing. The newest 203 is basically the same but comes with a tricked down UNIPIVOT tonearm, that gets prraises, too. Costs only 698 list price.
But you guys never ever had one nice word to say about any of these new tables and keep on praising thos vintage players. They are great and the TD 124/125 might be the best tt ever. But they are out of production like a Corvette or a Jaguar E. Period.
Best check out what thprens has to offer. The best Pre and Mono power combo in eectronics BTW. Reference and work hprse for 2 german audio mags.
Now they deliver wat people claim they want - a suspened tt better than the old originals and all you gotta say is ugly white plinth or overpriced. Engineering at that level, precise mechanics and german working prices make these tables so expensive.
Wait till you actually hear it with a 2 thousand dollar cart and compare it with a rebadged 320, then give your comment !

 

My giess is they will develop new tonearms for the bigger 900 tables. BTW the new Thorens tonearm are slamming. PE (once connected with DUAL) the very first Turn Table I had before changing to the DUAL CS 701 DD are back in business. At least the name lives on. They offer 2 fine new models with suspended chassis, too. One goes for 3 the other for 5 grand. (It costs to produce these mechanical masterpieces). These come with THORENS tonearms, too. They are sold seperately for 799 / 899 TP 88 / TP 92 ..
The PE 2020 sports the new unipivit TP 88, looks a lot like the one above..
These tables from PE look slamming in wooden black (wooden for the turntable/black for the tonearm.
Check analogplanet

 

I agree that thing looks cheapo crappy. I would never consider buying one of those.

 

I paid approx £110 for a TD 160s in 1980. Inflation would suggest a price of around £900. Double that maybe for the claimed improvements. That makes Euro 3-9K appear rather expensive. They are up against Mitchell and the lower SME decks among others in this price bracket.

 

Guess I'm in the minority...... I kind of like the look.

I do agree however, that they seem a bit spendy ($$$$).

 

I agree, and I wouldn't change my V.N. TD 160 Super for anything!

 

Nobody is allowed to air their opinion on aesthetics, then? We have to hear the turntable with a $2,000 cartridge before offering any comments at all? I find that 'table repugnant but concede that others might like its looks.

The appearance of gear is important to most of us, I'm sure. The fact that there are other 'tables at that price/performance point means those who don't like this offering can spend their dollars elsewhere. It's not like Thorens is the only entry in the game. It's also not like German turntables have a monopoly on quality engineering and manufacturing, either. I've owned some German-engineered garbage.

 

First thing I thought of. Thorens turntables in the past had very good styling and build quality. You gotta wonder what happened?

 

Vidiot, the more I see your views, the more I agree. It is a different world we live and work in. I see in you, the practical and professional viewpoint. We agree with high performance, with minimum fuss, or drama and reliability in operation. I must give you 1,000,000 likes. You see practical and good. Thorens always for years meant top performance (this new one does it), high style, elegance in operation, and sensible controls placed well. I see some of the old, some new I like less, it is interesting. Thorens needs that elegance and ease of use, or it is less Thorens. I see a bit of Thorens and Clearaudio in the tonearm. I like it to a degree. But I never forget the Thorens I loved and still love. A TD 165 awaits my love, my restoration, and my living room vinyl playback. But while I will improve and restore, that TD 165 will never lose what makes it Thorens.

 

The TD-165 was a great turntable -- I had one of those as a secondary rig for years and years.

 

Just like Sonographe and CJ Walker...

 

that's a nice looking arm on the new model.....what's that suspension thingy under the center of the table? These where not on the older thorens...

 

Agreed. Those dark wood finished ones are beyond beautiful. I love seeing a modern hi-end turntable that doesn't look like a miniature offshore oil drilling rig.

 

As do I, and I said I love the dark wood finished models. The turntable is nice, worthy of the name Thorens.

 

I agree the wood finish is nice, it's a classic looking turntable. The reality is these tables might be grossly overpriced, on the other hand they might be extremely well engineered and built. Everyone is absolutely free to hate the look of these, but commenting on quality in relationship to price should be withheld.

Admittedly, Thorens is putting itself against some serious competition at these price points.

 

I'm still spinning my original Thorens TD 160 with the stock tonearm. I know it could be improved upon but it does most things right.

 

I know. Sometimes I wonder about all these vast improvements. You've got a motor, rubber band and platter on a bearing. I mean that's your core of EVERY table. Better bearing? Great. Good motor, excellent. 50 pound platter, well.... Sometimes I think these really thick platters look ridiculous, like some crazy sketch of a funny car where proportion makes no sense but it looks wild. Do I really need sixty pounds of steel to dampen the vibrations created by a stylus?

But I do think Thorens make some of the ultimate COMMON SENSE audiophile spinners. Nice heavy platters and chassis but not overkill. Good quality motors that can still be had for $150 (guy's been selling NOS one's from switzerland lately) and solid good looks. If not the BEST turntables in the world, certainly the most sensible high quality tables ever produced.

 

The only thing that bugs me is the mat. Once a record is on, it looks really nice.

 

Feel free to dislike the color of the white model above. I do not like that wooden white look, neither! I think they took that 70ies reminiscence (a lot of Thorens + DUAL tt came with wooden plinth back then) a tad too far but if that alone is orove enough for you to dismiss that new table, then I call you shortsighted/minded, sorry. By the way I do like that white MDf extra large platter on my new TD 206, that comes with a TP 90 - a great tonearm in the midde of that TP 92 introduced with the TD 309 and the new TP 88 Unipivot TA that was invented for the brandnew TD 203. The tonarm on the reference is a 10" version of that new TA. All i can say in regards to the new THORENS models is that I am still more than happy I bought the (white) TD 206(TP 0. There are so many nice features like that ultra quiet-and I mean noise free (!) motor and that slamming great tonearm, that already sounded better with the stock AT 95 Thorens cart than my otherwise great vintage DUAL CS 701 with a 500 dollar cart. Once I put that HOMC cart in that tonearm I was simply awe struck. now I know what Hi End sounds like. Ink black, dynamics, soundstage, tone colors as beautiful as no Cd player I ever had could come close to. But why not read th reviews on amazon.com from happy customers. It beats the Clearaudio concept in terms of noise free running and quality of manufacturing..Link :
http://www.amazon.com/Thorens-TD-206-Manual-Turntable/dp/B00EPDZMHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432890124&sr=8-1&keywords=THORENS TD 206
(just noticed that the gloss white model sells for 1499 while the black costs 1.995 lol (in germany they cost the same if red, black or white - 995 € list price - I got it for 799 plus porto and couldn't have made a better deal in audio - yippie (just listening to Tubular Bells-luv it )
BTW the comment with the TD 350 was aimed at those of you , that truely think a rebadged old Thorens would sound just as good or better. That has been tested before with an older 2 grand model from Thorens - the one that looks the most like those old models. I just want you to take a closer look at what thorens actually offers from low price to up tp 10 grand tables plus a very few but top notch amps..
A fine Thorens Line up from speakers, amps to turntable (TD 350)
http://www.thorens.com/turntables/drives/td-350.html
www.Thorens.de

 

besides the arm, the key to getting that simple suspended design to sound great, comes from the heavy top platter I suspect. The old thorens 124/125 and also the 150/160's have a lot of weight. My 125 feels like 40 to 60? pounds of german metal. Compare this to an old AR for example which has less weight to it, and I wonder if this why my AR has a bit too much air that probably comes from subtle distortion. The heavy metal thorens have all the honest accurate air without the distortion imo. I wonder what the weight is of the new thorens tables?


But I agree, when you get down to it all it is, is a belt a motor and a platter. And the mdf rega design is even simpler! The arm is key of course, but it really is simple stuff, but with analog it's the details that really end up mattering since that little diamond picks up everything. So the motor now becomes very key, as does the belt, the platter etc. At first glance it seems simple but in reality, you need to get all those ducks in a row for super sound.

 

TD 350: 10 kg * TD 550: 20 kg.