Thorens TD1601 Turntable – part 1 damn ... well, if I ever have $4000 burning a hole in my pocket ...
AFAIK, Linn bought out Ariston, and Ariston copied their designs (or the idea thereof) from the concept invented by the original AR company, from right here in the good ole' USA.
As far as who sell them - HiFi Heaven is Wisconsin is one prominent dealer. They're legit, I've bought from them a few times, and they also take trade-ins.
It’s engineered by Walter Fuchs, who is a turntable specialist and consultant at Fink-Audio-Team that Thorens has worked with before. It’s assembled in Taiwan by Yan Hornq Electronics, according to Thorens the owner of Yan Hornq is a big Thorens enthusiast.
They don’t have the blue-printS left for their classics. The blue-prints were destroyed in a factory fire in the 1990’s. So they had to re-engineer and re-design. But they did the TD350, TD550 and TD160 HD plus thd TD9xx-serie under Heinz Rohrer and they were modern interpretations of the same theme.
Heinz Rohrer was CEO of Thorens Export Ltd (Thorens international distributor and sales company, based in Switzerland) when the german Thorens company was closed down. He got an offer for Thorens so he continued with it. He was the link between old and new Thorens.
The TD350, 550, 160 HD, 9xx-series and acrylic series, were designed and engineered in co-operation with Fink-Audio and the German high-end manufacturer Acoustic Signature. The heavy aluminium platter and belt drive with digital speed control, were all Acoustic Signature. Now these models has been discontinued.
I asked Thorens about that review and they replied back with that Mr Fermer had tested a pre-production model and the issues discovered by mr Fermer had been solved in the production.
Fisher: First sold to Emerson Electric (who made ceiling fans and electric motors) by Avery Fisher in 1969. Kept the factories and the engineering team and much of the staff intact. Sold to Sanyo in 1975. Corrected this one for you. Another note, Fred Mergner, Fisher's chief engineer from 1956 onward, continued at Fisher until he retired in 1977.
Favorable review from the distinguished Mr Fremer: Thorens TD 1601 Turntable—It Might As Well Be Sprung
Cool looking table ... So the brand is back in Germany, but do you know where the action production is?
They really are nice tables, developed in Germany and assembled in Taiwan, pretty standard practice these days for most audio companies. All the reviews I've seen so far have been stellar. They are selling it in some locales with the AT-OC9XML cart I'm using now too. I'd love to give one a spin, especially like the walnut, very classy looking, and I have checked around a bit for good deals in the past... you can get one shipped from Thomann in Germany for under $2500. Kinda tempting, though still just a tiny bit high, and I'm not really in the market for a beautiful new table. Kinda wish I was ...
The proportions seem "off", it's just not very graceful. If it turns out to be a good turntable that shouldn't be held against it though. At least not much.
Yeah, the design seems to be based on the TD-150 with the black long board for the tonearm mount (rather than the smaller tonearm mount on the TD-160), but this new model appears to be wider, with more space to the left and right of the platter, so the proportions are certainly a bit different. It looks a bit boxier than the early models.
The new AT-OC9XML as repackaged by Thorens and recommended for the 1600, apparently same price as from AT, would be a great match for the 11 gram TP-92 ...
The reviews online praise the high level of build quality and finish. The pictures I have seen show a beautiful TT. Made in China. I am reminded of the tremendously high build quality of the Denton reissues which are made in China.