Review: Thorens TD203 Turntable

I’m quite capable of making my own mind, it just so happens that 2 people in the turntable business told me the same thing regarding modern Thorens. Doesn’t mean I won’t buy a Thorens, but if I do, maybe I’ll hear a voice saying « try and get a better price »...

Maybe modern technology is better and you can get better products for less money than before and a 2018 €1000 TT is better than its equivalent in 1977 money ? I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong and I won’t buy a new TT.

 

Update on the TD-203 business: I got a pre-paid shipping label from Rutherford and was able to send them the table in early January. After a week, they got back to me and let me know that the bearings in the tonearm were busted and the tonearm wiring had issues. They said they were crediting the price of the table back to the retailer and that they would work out some sort of deal for store credit or something for me. It's been a while and I've yet to hear anything back about the deal.

I got frustrated and ordered the cheapest SL-1200mk5 that I saw on eBay. It arrived last night and I unpacked it and I threw the old AT95E from my AT-LP120 onto the tonearm and had the whole thing set up in minutes. Everything works and it sounds really good. So many of the issues I had with the AT-LP120 simply vanish on the Technics. The Lounge Audio preamp sounds excellent, even with the worn stylus. It sucks that I had to wait 2+ months to finally hear it. I'm looking forward to gathering up a dustcover and other accessories for the Technics in the coming weeks. I ordered a Nagaoka MP-150 and fresh headshell that should be here for the weekend and I'm excited to be back to enjoying my records again after going 2+ years without them.

It's possible that I would have loved the sound of a functional TD-203, but I'm not in any hurry to try the current crop of budget Thorens tables again. Hopefully, I get some sort of refund for the TD-203.

 

Hold it. The U.S. distributor's website (Rutherford) says it does have VTA:
"While the TD 203 is factory-set to provide exceptional out-of-the-box performance, it leaves aficionados room to fine-tune and adjust the performance to their personal preferences. The tonearm, for example, offers facilities to adjust the height (vertical tracking angle) and the cartridge’s perpendicularity to the record’s surface (azimuth)."

Source:
The Thorens TD 203 an entry level manual turntable

 

In addition, on the official Thorens website, you can find the technical docs for the tonearm itself:
THORENS Tonearm TP 82

"VTA: The vertical tracking angle be easily adjusted by loosening the arm collar lock nut and raising or lowering the entire tonearm."


In other news, mine is still spinning happily without any hickups.

 

Hello there
I’ve had the Thorens TD203 for a year without any issues and I love it! I see there are question where it’s built. The TD203 are assembled in Germany. The tonearm is hand made in Switzerland in a workshop as all the TP90 and TP92 tonearms are, but the bearings are made in Japan. The DC motor is european. The plastic cover and screws are made in China and some cables too.
The MDF plinth is also made in China. All parts are assembled in Germany in the Ferenbacher factory in ”Black Forest” region, they also makes Dual and Perpetuum-Ebner turntables.

The cheaper automatic Thorens (TD158, 170, 190, 235 and 240) are all versions of Dual designs. But the TD203 like it’s bigger brothers TD206/209 and 309 were designed by Finz Audio Consulting led by Karl-Heinz Finck, a famous german audio design team. Karl-Heinz Finck has designed many Hifi products, such as ALR Jordan speakers (I have the ALR Jordan Entry 2M myself) and speakers from Q Acoustics among others. They have also designed the new TP-82 tonearm.

I use it with the Benz Micro MC Silver and loves the sound!

The turntable cost as the Rega RP3 but I prefer the Thorens, it’s easier to change cartridge and the electronic speed control works well. I din’t find it overpriced at all. It’s a lovely little turntable!

I had the Thorens TD289 Mk II for many years, but I love my new TD203.
I have it in white.

I really recommend it!

 

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the info, the TD309 is quite a nice table, but I think Thorens made a bit of a misjudgement by not offering it in a more conventional shape, with maybe a TD 306 designation, like they did with the lessor TD 206/209. In any case, you're right, they have been somewhat quietly turning out a series of nice tables with German and Swiss heritage for a few years now. I guess having the lower echelon of Chinese tables in their lineup hurts their reputation just a bit.

I have a great old TD 320 (modified quite a bit) that looks quite a bit like some of their new upscale offerings, though the current prices are a bit disproportionate compared to the golden era when I bought mine. They are pretty cool looking, though

 

Wo...thanks for that info:
tonearm hand made in Switzerland, bearings are made in Japan, DC motor European. All parts are assembled in Germany.

These really are a steal $699 with 2M Blue cart:
Thorens TD 203 Turntable Black

That's a lot less than a Rega 3.

 

If you want more info on the team that designed the new turntables and tonearms for Thorens, then here is their website... Here with a direct link to some info on how they work when debeloping a new tonearm. The are specialists in measuring resonances, quite inportant for turntable construction.
Turntable « Fink Audio-Consulting

The 309 was designed from a white paper with an inverted sub chassi design and suspension in the feet with insliration from loudspeaker cone controls. The shield-design is functional, it distributes and lower resonances. Tonearm in one corner and weight in another for balance. Motor is de-coupled with a special rubber membrane construction. I would love to have it, but I could only afford the TD203.

Now the TD203 has a special motor de-coupling too, with motor in rubber bands.

The platter is plastic conposite to reduce unwanted resonances, so it doesn’t need a mat. Note that a rubber mat is designed to damp / reduce resonances in a metal plattern, so used on the TD203 it will kill the music.

Occassionally, I use an anti-static carbon mat to reduce static electricity from records. This doesn’t kill the music.

I find the TD203 to be very musical. In Sweden where I live it cost 6995 SEK with AT3600 and and a Rega 3 without cartridge cost 7 995 SEK.

The tonearm TP82 is so good it can handle exotic cartridges. But I have settled with the Benz Micro MC Silver and this is an excellent combination.

 

The DC motor and electronic speed control in the TD203 is the same as in the more expensive TD309... So you get a taste of TD309 for less money.

 

Some of the higher end Thorens are made by the German high-end manufacturer Acoustic Signature, like the Thorens acrylic series (TD2015 and TD2035) and the TD550. The first Thorens built by Acoustic Signature was the TD800 series.

Here is the website for Acoustic Signature...
http://acoustic-signature.com

They are known for a very stable and detailed sound, very neutral but perhaps a bit on the cold side. The turntables they make for Thorens are more musical and airy IMHO.

The TD350 mentioned in this thread has a platter, motor, speed control and belt drive from Acoustic Signature, but with Thorens suspension and wooden plinth.

Acoustic Signature’s own turntables uses heavy and solid aluminium platterns with rigid and non-suspended high-density and high mass plinths. So it is a different approach than traditional Thorens.

The TD203, 206/209 and 309 has a low mass plinth. 309 has a suspended sub-chassi but the others not. The basic design approach is similar to Rega, but with some differencies.

Now, Thorens has changed owners recently. The former CEO Heinz Rohrer that was boss over the distribution and maketing division Thorens Export Ltd in Switzerland, took over the brand name and design rights when the german Thorens company was filed for bankrupcy in the late 90’s. Thorens Export Ltd was the surviving part and this formed the new Thorens company. Thorens has not had their own factory since the bankrupcy, but uses the talents of Fehrenbacher that operates in the old Dual factory and Acoustic Signature and smaller workshops that provides different parts, like the tonearm.

Starting from May this year, the Thorens company has moved back to Germany under a new owner and CEO mr Gunter Kuerten, he is former CEO of ELAC and Denon Germany (with additional leadership experience at LG, Loewe, Sharp and Sony).

At the Münich high end show he showed a prototype for a new high-end automatic turntable the TD148 A. It has a classic retro design of a big square wooden box with suspended chassi, but modern plattern and a tonearm from the new TP series of handrolled aluiminium that are made in Switzerland.

He has said in interviews that he is inspired by the 1970’s Thorens turntables and wants to build upon their DNA legacy, so it sounds like he’s going retro. I find it a bit shame because I really like the TD309 and other modern designs, but maybe the typical Thorens customer wants a more traditional approach. Mr Kuerten certainly seems to think so.

 

Regarding the slipping anti-skating weight when movin tonearm back to it’s resting position and lock it - I found no issues with the pre-mounted Thorens TAS257 (Audio Technica AT3600) but noticed it sometimes with my Benz Micro MC Silver. Perhaps it depends on the weight of the cartridge. A minor issue I would say.

 

None of Thorens turntables are manufactured in China. Some of their models has plinths, chassi, platterns and plastic covers made in China to Thorens design and specifications but all products are assembled in Germany and contains parts from different countries. The more expensive, the more parts are made in Europe. A plinth or chassi made in China is roughly half the price compared to same plinth made in Europe. All designs and development are made by european designers and technicians, the latest turntables and tonearms were designed and developed in a collaboration with Karl-Heinz Finck and team.

It’s not like for example Music Hall that has commisioned an OEM maker in China to develop and manufacture a turntable and then Music Hall gets prototypes that they adjust. The Music Hall 1.3 and 1.5 turntables were made this way.

To compete with all the Chinese developed and manufactured turntables, Thorens makes some of the parts in China to get cost down but they are all still designed, developed and assembled in Europe. Wood prices has gone up lika crazy. It’s an expensive material these days.

 

Well, nothing stops them from keep on supplying the TD203-to-309 series. Seeing how much the asking price is for their current top models, I don't think Thorens or other TT manufacturer's can deliver top performance with the sleek, lightweight design sensibility that you see in entry-level TTs. So going retro to suspended designs makes sense as well as delving back to their legacy. They do provide the TP92 and TP82 tonearms with their top models, though, which shows that they clearly believe in their capabilities.

 

The TD309 is a suspended chassi turntable but not retro at all, it has nothing in common with the 70’s suspension designs. It’s a totally new development. The feet contains spring coils and the suspension is inspired by speaker cones. Speaker cones has a very controlled movement. The 309 is a true high-end design, but non-traditional and not retro.

As for not being able to make slim designed high-end turntables, well Acoustic Signature Wow table is quite slim...
Acoustic Signature Wow! Heats up Low/Mid-Price Turntable Segment

But Thorens has other platter ideas. Acoustic Signature believes in heavy mass, heavy platters. Thorens uses clever resonance damping with lighter platters. The plattern in the TD206/209 is a sandwich design with aluninium at the bottom and acrylic at the top with a cardboard insert (this also works as the protractor so you’ll never loose it). Very clever. The 309 uses a glass platter as some of the TD90x-designs.

I believe the idea of going retro is more about tradition and nostalgia for marketing purposes than sound or performance related. The very un-traditional TD309 has a great performance!

 

There’s no way that having to reset the anti-skating after every single use could remotely be considered a minor issue. That’s a legit dealbreaker.

 

The issue with anti-skate weight has nothing to do with weight of cart; it happens every time you move tonearm back to rest. It's just because the loop is too big. You can make your own with new fishing line and make your loop smaller, or do what I did by using dental floss or other fishing string to close loop more snugly. It may vary from TT to TT I have no idea how they tie those loop knots. It has nothing to do with quality of TT either, it's just a big annoyance.

 

Well, I just can honestly say that it never happened for me with the included stock cartridge the TAS 257/AT3600. But I have experienced it a few times with the Benz MC Silver but not all the time. That is why I call it a minor issue.

 

Rapheal you must be talking about something else. The little loop and how it stays in groove on the anti-skate arm has nothing to do with the cart being used. It is just how big or small it is.

 

Still, I didn’t encountered any problem with the line it stayed in position with the included stock cartridge. I used it for several weeks until my Benz MC Silver arrived.

 

I just bought one as a replacement for an original Pro-ject 1. The TD-203 at its new lowered price of $699 and an Ortogon 2m Blue looked like the best bargain out there. I first was unsure of whether there was a VTA adjustment, but I found out that it's not documented in the manual, but is the same procedure as the TP-92 tonearm: i.e. loosen the tonearm locknut and pull up or down. So, it looks like it has all the adjustments I may want. The sound is very impressive on my best vinyl. Not sure if cart break-in is a myth, but I'm using it as much as I can, just in case I get further improvement.

THORENS Tonearm TP 82

VTA: The vertical tracking angle be easily adjusted by loosening the arm collar lock nut and raising or lowering the entire tonearm.

Uni-pivot bearing: The innovative, minimal-friction bearing system uses a conical carbide tip resting within an intricate arrangement of five small bearing balls.

Arm tube: The arm tube is manufactured from cold-forged, eight-layer aluminium. A laser vibrometer was used to analyse the tube’s resonances, enabling our designers to target specific frequencies.

Headshell: The headshell material is reinforced with carbon fibre to provide an extremely high level of rigidity. Overhang can be adjusted either by sliding the headshell into the desired position on the tube or by adjusting the entire tube in the bearing block.

Tracking force: The tracking force can be adjusted by rotating the tonearm counterweights, which are decoupled by means of rubber rings. The larger weight provides rough adjustment, while the smaller, eccentric weight is used for fine adjustment of the tracking force and also to adjust azimuth.

Anti-skating: The anti-skating force is set by hanging the bias weight on the tonearm’s bias shaft.

 

I'm glad to hear of its European manufacture. By the way, the New Zealand Thorens distributor states that it is designed in Germany, but actually made in China!
Thorens TD 203

The TD 203 is a high quality out of the box solution from THORENS®. The turntable comes fully assembled and is factory-set. It takes no more than five minutes from opening the box to playing music from a vinyl record. The TD 203 leaves aficionados room to fine-tune and adjust the performance to their personal preferences. The tonearm, for example, offers facilities to adjust azimuth and overhang. The pick-up cartridge can be easily changed in a matter of minutes. The scope of delivery includes a specially designed transparent Perspex dust cover.

• Low noise, low voltage electronically speed controlled DC motor
• Adjustable belt tension
• Adjustable platter speed
• Uni-pivot design tonearm TP 82
• Tonearm adjustable for azimuth an overhang
• Designed in Germany (made in China)

 

The issue with the anti-skate is that the Thorens has a closed O-shaped wire that has to be threaded with the fishing line. I used to have the Pro-ject, which has a U-shaped bend that didn't need to be threaded since it just cradled the fishing line.

 

Alright, so over the last 2 weeks, the motor has slowed down considerably. I was wondering why my music was sounding so druggy lately... Checked with the free strobe disc from VinylEngine and indeed, the speed needs adjusting. Gahhh

Tried to tighten the belt tension at first, but that hasn't helped really. Next step should be to adjust the potentiometer on the base of the TT, but it's a pain to reach conveniently. Furthermore, I'm a bit scared to fiddle with it myself, not knowing if it'll make things worse. I'm visiting my dealer this afternoon to see if it's a known problem with other TD203s, as it has only been half a year since it's been standing here. I know DC motors tend to drift over time, but this seems quite early in the lifespan to have hickups. (?)

Any other owners who have dealt with this issue? Updates to follow, probably.

 

Seems like a unit plagued with quirks and problems. Price drop and all too good to be true. At one point there was a guy local to me trying to offload a barely used one for half the original retail and kept dropping the price with no takers. Probably got tired of messing with the thing and wanted to pass the lemon onto someone else.

 

Well, you can go into any random TT thread at every price point, and you'll see people with issues. Sometimes, it seems the best option is just to avoid vinyl alltogether and go digital. ;-)

That said, I knew when buying what the advantages (instant speed change!) but also disadvantages (speed drift over time) of a DC motor were. For example, you can find similar complaints about the well-regarded Clearaudio Concept as well.

There is speed-adjustability built in in the design. I just wanted to contact my dealer first, so they'll check whether a slight re-calibration suffices, or if the motor really has to be replaced by Thorens. Of course, that doesn't mean it's not an inconvenience to be without my TT for probably a couple of days / weeks.

In general, with the introduction of the new Technics though, it seems to me that belt-driven TTs have it very hard to stay competitive in the market, apart from the really entry-level Pro-Jects et al. The Technics still is 800 euros more expensive than my current Thorens, but I could see myself upgrading again in a couple of years and then leave it at that. I still prefer the arm design on the TD 203, however.