advertisement


Thorens v Rega

It does, I love vintage Grados :)

I have implored John Grado to issue a version of the current Gold with a ML or Gyger tip, but sadly it falls on deaf ears.

As a young 'n I had the then "best buy" Grado FCE+1 which IIRC cost me only around £15 and it was bloody marvellous!
Years later and with much better equipment I dug it out and tried it again and was stunned how good it actually was... there may be some rose tinted specs here and it was a long time ago but I recall it being literally one of the best MM's I've ever heard!
About 20 year back though I got a prestige black given... I had big expectations after the FCE+1 years before... Bloody awful! Dynamics of wet cardboard and seemed like not much going on above about 12KHz! Yuk!
 
That is such a shame, after living with high end tips for many years now (2M Black, 540/II etc, currently an MP-500) there is no way I could go back! It’s arguably worth buying a Grado and getting Expert or whoever to stick a decent tip on it. Probably would be far cheaper than the stuff I list! Do Jico do anything interesting for them? A SAS would be good!

PS Factory tour here:


I actually made enquiries at Jico, who said there was no demand. They also said they'd be happy to oblige if I would cough-up to fund the tooling! - which did make me laugh but at least that's honest :)

Expert is a good shout - very important to change just the tip and not the whole cantilever assembly.

As a young 'n I had the then "best buy" Grado FCE+1 which IIRC cost me only around £15 and it was bloody marvellous!
Years later and with much better equipment I dug it out and tried it again and was stunned how good it actually was... there may be some rose tinted specs here and it was a long time ago but I recall it being literally one of the best MM's I've ever heard!

Yep, a good Grado reminds me of a Decca. A bit coloured but incredibly lively and vibrant.
 
Grados are copies of SP B&O cartridges, themselves very good.
It’s a shame you can’t buy good stylii these days.
I have an F1+ I can’t use: dull, dull, dull.
 
The Thorens, not even close. But I think you will struggle to pick up a nice one with a 774 for the same price as a new P1.

I may just have that exact combo available in the near future if you're interested? Although location may be stumbling block.

I'll keep an eye out for it.
 
I have an off-spec Thorens TD125 with a 774 on it and IMO it’s in a completely different league to a P1 (which I’ve heard in a friend’s system) and to an old P3 (heard in my own). Almost certainly better than the RP6 I used to have, but I only heard that with one cart. I think a 160 in good nick could probably match my 125. No-brainer if you can get the 774 for a reasonable price.

Good 774’s don’t become available that often.
 
Not clear from the pictures on the web. Has it just one large ball bearing for vertical movement?
 
someone should mention the TD150, which was widely regarded as a 'proper' thorens. The 160 , it's son, was thought to be the lesser deck, although more modern in terms of convenience to play IIRC. It also had a better arm, but a good, armless 150 is another Thorens worth finding and keeping.
 


advertisement


Back
Top