A nifty turntable that I've been playing with, the Thorens TD-160 "Super" repro from Vinyl Nirvana..

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Steve Hoffman, Jun 4, 2014.

  1. ddarch

    ddarch Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    BLOODWOOD plinth gets delivered this Thursday! A week or so to get finish on it!
     
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  2. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Oh you are such a tease! I have about 15 unlistened to records I've bought since placing the order. I'm chomping at the bit!
     
  3. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Bloodwood..I'd want it just for the name:)
     
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  4. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Well it arrived and I am thrilled. I figured I'd post this for those that might be interested. It sounds as gorgeous as it looks. I can't comment on similarly priced tables, but if you want a timeless piece in looks and sound, I encourage you to check out:

    Vintage Turntables For Sale - AR Turntable Vinyl Nirvana Acoustic Research Merrill Thorens TD 160 For Sale »

    Here is my Thorens TD 160 Super in real Bloodwood plinth. Bronze Cartridge.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The table is dead quiet. And sounds incredible.

    Thank you to our host for starting this thread and his comments on the table. It surely influenced my decision. And I don't regret it for a second.
     
  5. PGB

    PGB Procolholic

    Yes, me too. The only mod I've done on mine was to replace the feet with better ones, which I bought from Dave @ Vinyl Nirvana. The TD160 is very sensitive to footfall vibration, so anything you can do to isolate it should be done. Wall mounting might help.

    Dave's a really straight-up guy and knows his stuff. He specializes in vintage Thorens and to some extent AR mods.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2017
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  6. PGB

    PGB Procolholic

    I used to have a Dual CS-608 DD table (early 80s) to play 78s. Pretty good ...
     
  7. PGB

    PGB Procolholic

    Yard sale, maybe, from someone who doesn't know what (s)he has ... :D
     
  8. PGB

    PGB Procolholic

    Wow!!
     
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  9. PGB

    PGB Procolholic

    I agree, 1000% - mine is the TP-16 (on an original 160 table), and to my (old) ears it sounds and performs great. Cartridge match is important, though - mine's a Grado Prestige Red which seems compatible.
     
  10. Rentz

    Rentz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    All this thorens talk has me considering on of the VN weekly special td166.
     
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  11. razorball

    razorball Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    I just tried a Miyajima Madake on my Swissonor TD 160 with TP 16 tonearm. I usually listened with an ortofon quintet blue (mc). The Madake sounds a lot better. More open, more details, better seperation between instruments. A true (expensive) beauty.
     
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  12. Tartifless

    Tartifless Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    There is a TD 160 "super" for sale (an old man in the street near mine) where i live for 450€.
    It is fitted with a GRACE G 705 arm and a MM GRADO SIGNATURE cell.

    It has been recently serviced.

    For 450€ is this a steal or not ?
     
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  13. sfrost

    sfrost Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    Never heard of a G705, maybe a G704? Seems like a good price but would like to see a picture of the arm to verify.
     
  14. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    The deck cost £120 in 1980 when I purchased one. Grace arms must have been under £100 in the 70s. Would bet on the cartridge being past it's sell by date. More than I would pay unless it is as new. Maybe worth £300 which is now roughly same in Euros. Why I think the repros are a bit rich in price to say the least.
     
  15. Tartifless

    Tartifless Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    I just asked for some pictures, let's see what i get.
     
  16. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I saw that 160 super. There's a ring on the tonearm, strange. I asked the seller about it.
     
  17. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I'd say a really clean 160 with the Thorens TP16 is worth £150, with a SME £350+, I often see both for a lot less, they aren't uncommon, so that sounds expensive to me. I'd also recommend that you don't count the cost of a cartridge when buying a used deck, unless it has a brand new stylus or is brand new, you can't be sure of the hours so don't value it at or or value it very low because chances are you will replace it anyway.
     
  18. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    It's the Grace G 707 Mkii tonearm.
     
  19. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    A little digging on the net suggests that the Grace arm isn't massively expensive, confirms my thoughts that it's expensive, perhaps wait and if it doesn't sell offer 350 Euros, that is a fairer price in my opinion, assuming you really want a TD-160.
     
  20. ddarch

    ddarch Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    US pricing, as evidenced by sold eBay listings, is much higher. Incomplete fair condition TD-160 with tp-16 is $400 on average. Same, very good and near complete, is easily over $500. (Outliers abound, per usual) SME 3009 arms alone average $450 to $550 here...often with missing (expensive) doodads, and, of course, 40 to 50 year old wiring.

    Maybe fifteen years ago, the prices dubmart cites were accurate in US.

    Dave

    PS I should add, July and August prices in US are historically lower on average. October to March, highest.
     
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  21. Tartifless

    Tartifless Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Hi, thank you all for your answers.
     
  22. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Fair comment and perhaps French prices are closer to US ones, in which case it may be a good deal.
     
  23. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    If that is the case look for one in the UK. The 160s has become overpriced but anything over £300 is excessive. A new Rega P3 at £550 will sound better (bar bass) to put this into perspective.
     
    KT88 likes this.
  24. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    They aren't the most robust of decks, I'd be slightly worried about sending one across the Channel, unless the seller really knew how to pack them and ideally had the original packaging which from memory was pretty decent, those plinths in particular are pretty vulnerable, I agree a new Rega or similar should be obviously better and won't need the level of TLC that a forty year old Thorens will and most of them need some work.
     
    KT88 likes this.
  25. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Latest update, removed the Ortofon Black cart and replaced with Grado Labs Epoch. A cart way out of the low price range of the table but sounds amazing on it, with a little help from Warren Jarrett designed red Play-Doh enhanced counterweight! grado.jpg
     
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