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The journey begins….

Bernstein’s Candide for my first vinyl.
I’ll try to steal some time later to have a proper listen and give some initial impressions. Still need to add the anti skate later in the week but it’s holding.
 
Well. I’m now having a good listen. I’ve plugged the Thorens into the Project S2 and set the dip switches to suit the cartridge. The first thing that strikes me is the generosity of soundstage. A full, broad sound with width and depth. The cartridge is a surprise. Nice detail in the mids, a bright brassy treble and textured bass. I’m particularly impressed with percussion. You can hear the tight skin of the drums. Voices are nicely present. I’m intrigued.
The Clearaudio in comparison is cool in sound. It lacks the extra warmth that the Thorens brings. It reminds me of the Yamaha CT 1010 fm tuner I used to own and enjoy.
I’ve still some bits to do but the initial push was to get it going.
Next week I’ll add the anti skating weights and get that right. I’d also like to solder a longer earth wire.
Another thing would be to refurbish the lid. I’d like to get rid of the light scratches. And hinges, though this may be challenging.
My initial feeling is that this is going to be a very satisfying replacement and will keep me in invested and enthralled when I wish to listen to my vinyl.
 
It’s great to see a fishie friend enjoying it.
Good luck with the job interview.
Cheers. Have enjoyed bringing it to life and have learned a little bit in the process.My father in law is coming tomorrow and is looking forward to seeing it. He was a Linn owner for a long time and remembers Thorens players. He’s intrigued and is looking forward to seeing and hearing it.His first speakers were speaker units in tea chests and he began with a Garrard. It’s nice to listen to him about his hifi interest and history. He gifted me most of his vinyl a few years ago. This is why I won’t totally leave it behind.
Cheers,
Del.
 


Oiled and spinning.
I must say, you certainly don't hang about, Del. Looks lovely, too!

Regarding dust cover restoration, look no further than Novus Plastic Polish, which comes highly recommended from plastics fabricators. They offer three individual products, available as a kit or separately. Their No. 2 Fine Scratch Remover generally does the trick. If in really bad shape then it is No. 3 Medium Scratch Remover, followed up with the No. 2 to take down the fine swirl marks left by No. 3. These aren't the cheapest, but a little 8oz bottle goes a long way. Great for car headlamps, plastic lenses, visors, all kinds of things.

BTW, is it the hinge(s) on the lid, or on the plinth that need replacing?
 
Well. I’m now having a good listen. I’ve plugged the Thorens into the Project S2 and set the dip switches to suit the cartridge. The first thing that strikes me is the generosity of soundstage. A full, broad sound with width and depth. The cartridge is a surprise. Nice detail in the mids, a bright brassy treble and textured bass. I’m particularly impressed with percussion. You can hear the tight skin of the drums. Voices are nicely present. I’m intrigued.
The Clearaudio in comparison is cool in sound. It lacks the extra warmth that the Thorens brings. It reminds me of the Yamaha CT 1010 fm tuner I used to own and enjoy.
I’ve still some bits to do but the initial push was to get it going.
Next week I’ll add the anti skating weights and get that right. I’d also like to solder a longer earth wire.
Another thing would be to refurbish the lid. I’d like to get rid of the light scratches. And hinges, though this may be challenging.
My initial feeling is that this is going to be a very satisfying replacement and will keep me in invested and enthralled when I wish to listen to my vinyl.
I owned that tuner as well and have similar memories of its sound!

I ended up using its raw FM output to feed an HHScott tube multiplex decoder!

Good times.

And great restoration job! You crushed it!
 
I must say, you certainly don't hang about, Del. Looks lovely, too!

Regarding dust cover restoration, look no further than Novus Plastic Polish, which comes highly recommended from plastics fabricators. They offer three individual products, available as a kit or separately. Their No. 2 Fine Scratch Remover generally does the trick. If in really bad shape then it is No. 3 Medium Scratch Remover, followed up with the No. 2 to take down the fine swirl marks left by No. 3. These aren't the cheapest, but a little 8oz bottle goes a long way. Great for car headlamps, plastic lenses, visors, all kinds of things.

BTW, is it the hinge(s) on the lid, or on the plinth that need replacing?
Thanks.The hinges on the lid need replacement.
 
I must say, you certainly don't hang about, Del. Looks lovely, too!

Regarding dust cover restoration, look no further than Novus Plastic Polish, which comes highly recommended from plastics fabricators. They offer three individual products, available as a kit or separately. Their No. 2 Fine Scratch Remover generally does the trick. If in really bad shape then it is No. 3 Medium Scratch Remover, followed up with the No. 2 to take down the fine swirl marks left by No. 3. These aren't the cheapest, but a little 8oz bottle goes a long way. Great for car headlamps, plastic lenses, visors, all kinds of things.

BTW, is it the hinge(s) on the lid, or on the plinth that need replacing?
Ordered the Novus. Thank you for the tip.
 
Enjoying a little Beethoven by the Beaux Arts Trio this morning.
I’ve been perusing the Analogue Dept. website and see all sorts of do-able little upgrades for the Thorens. Interesting and informative website. They mention the following as upgrades:

-change the hardboard base cover for 1/2 inch MDF
-add dampening material to the MDF

I’m keen to the keep the TT as honest as possible but these changes appear fairly non-obtrusive. Do you vinyl lovers think it would be worth doing? It’s a solid thing anyway with its aluminium clad plinth and metal top plate.

The arm is great and I’m impressed with the lack of surface noise. I’m presuming it’s the combination of a decent arm and phono stage. I really love the introduction of a little warmth. It’s a welcoming and nourishing sound and lovely with my Maggies. I’m going to dig out some Quartetto Italiano vinyl in due course as I believe the combination of the warmth of replay and the burnished rosin-saturated sound of this legendary quartet will have real synergy.
 
Looks great. I'm with Fegs, live with it for a while.

When I had an early 160 replacing the baseboard was the only thing I did to it. Hard to say if it helped the sound (different cart etc.) but it was easy and improved the appearance, I think:

37020771802_751a229c40_k.jpg


But yours looks like it already has a thick baseboard?

I'd keep an eye out for a 10mm subchassis and inner platter before going down the damping route.
 
Yes I agree. I’d worry about dampening the life out of the sound. I’ve got a Goldring 1042 that I could try and a cork mat to play with.Otherwise, very enjoyable indeed.
The Ortofon is fun Gus.
 
Yes I agree. I’d worry about dampening the life out of the sound. I’ve got a Goldring 1042 that I could try and a cork mat to play with.Otherwise, very enjoyable indeed.
The Ortofon is fun Gus.
Seems to get a bit of a mixed reaction, I thought it was a pretty nice cart and good vfm, it and the blue get put on Techy decks a lot as starters so wanted to try one on my GR.

That didn’t take you long to get running, need something more challenging next time :)
 
I know. Once I read up I was aware of what I needed to do. I started and things went well so I even managed to start to clean some bits.
Step at a time so I can maintain my confidence!
 
Nice TT @Del monaco.

Your thread brings back some memories for me. I had a Thorens TD 166 Mk II just like yours for over twenty years. It was my first decent TT, and I rather wish I hadn't sold it. I somehow managed to wreck the Thorens tonearm after two or three years - I seem to remember it being a bit fiddly to change carts and set up properly? - and ended up fitting an SME 3009 Series II in its place, which I thought at the time was an improvement and a good visual match too. I wish I still had the SME too!

Good luck with your restoration and I hope you enjoy it!
 
Nice TT @Del monaco.

Your thread brings back some memories for me. I had a Thorens TD 166 Mk II just like yours for over twenty years. It was my first decent TT, and I rather wish I hadn't sold it. I somehow managed to wreck the Thorens tonearm after two or three years - I seem to remember it being a bit fiddly to change carts and set up properly? - and ended up fitting an SME 3009 Series II in its place, which I thought at the time was an improvement and a good visual match too. I wish I still had the SME too!

Good luck with your restoration and I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks Mike. It was fiddly to for the cartridge especially as the Ortofon has screws in the top but I managed to win despite this. It’s sounding very fine. I’ve got the anti skate weight arriving this week so this should help too. I really like vintage stuff and often wish I’d started with vintage just to experience the quality.
 


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