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Thorens TD150

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paul@southby

pfm Member
I’ve just rebuilt a TD150 for one of my daughters.

It’s in a Goodmans MT1000 plinth. Classic piece of mid century workmanship. I’d ended up making a new arm board and swapping the arm for a later kugel arm.

Stunned. It doesn’t have the bass or the grip of my Lenco PTP but it has a gorgeous energetic mid range.
 
It is a stunning piece of design. Obviously cost-cut compared to the TD-125 and especially the TD-124, but everything that needs to be there is there. A game changing era of audio starting with the AR XA that was based entirely on logical design thinking and the engineering required to achieve it. Just a far simpler way to make a record deck well. Zero bling, zero hype, zero pretence, just what was required to solve the problem to an acceptable level. Such thinking is sadly all too rare today in today’s audio world. A wonderful deck, as is the later TD-160 in its various guises.
 
My first TT...

S/h Thorens TD150 BC, with an SME3009S2 imp tone arm, fitted with a Shure V15/3 cartridge.

Sounded great, upgraded to a new Shure V15/3 HE stylus replacement.

Stylus cost was just 22 squids, bought in Edgeware Rd, them were the days. :)
 
Beobloke said:
I'm a big fan of the TD150 and the arm on the MK2 is far more capable than many give it credit for.

I'd take one happily over a TD160 or TD125.
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I can't agree with that. The TD150 is truly great budget deck but the TD125 is far far superior and on a different level.
 
Mike P said:
I can't agree with that. The TD150 is truly great budget deck but the TD125 is far far superior and on a different level.
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My next step up was to a Thorens TD125, fitted with an ugly Thorens tone arm.

I bought an Thorens TD125 arm board, cut out for SME 3009 tone arms,

Transplanted my 3009 s2 arm from my Thorens TD150 AB on to my s/h TD125, it was far better than the TD150, bass extension was much deeper, everything sounded much better than my humble 150.

Looked far better and had its original hinged clear perspex cover.
 
Darmok said:
My next step up was to a Thorens TD125, fitted with an ugly Thorens tone arm.

I bought an Thorens TD125 arm board, cut out for SME 3009 tone arms,

Transplanted my 3009 s2 arm from my Thorens TD150 AB on to my s/h TD125, it was far better than the TD150, bass extension was much deeper, everything sounded much better than my humble 150.

Looked far better and had its original hinged clear perspex cover.
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My TD125 is running a 3009 S2 and Shure V15 III it's a classic combination that looks just right to me.

I've owned a TD160 and a TD150 and whilst I'm a fan of both, the TD125 is an altogether more serious deck.

I also have a TD124 which I'd rate as on par with the TD125 but with a very different flavour.
 
Mike P said:
I also have a TD124 which I'd rate as on par with the TD125 but with a very different flavour.
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I bought a faulty Thorens TD124 fitted with a SME 3012 for £30:00, mounted on a huge SME plinth c/w perspex cover.

Motor never reaches 33 rpm.

I have done nought to mend it, it lives in my shipping container along with 3 other TD124s none of the 3 have plinths, one of them is fitted with a Grace tone arm, along with the rest of my audio treasures.

My pension stash. :D
 
124s are of an age I’d really not recommend running without a strip-down, full clean and re-lube at the least. The oil is notorious for turning to a sticky varnish-like goo.

PS Mine is certainly going round at the right speed, Bernard Purdie is currently sounding funky as hell!
 
Mike P said:
My TD125 is running a 3009 S2 and Shure V15 III it's a classic combination that looks just right to me.

I've owned a TD160 and a TD150 and whilst I'm a fan of both, the TD125 is an altogether more serious deck.

I also have a TD124 which I'd rate as on par with the TD125 but with a very different flavour.
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I'm not sure I agree. I've owned 125 150 and 160 and the 150 has a certain magic, it just gets up and boogies. Given a free choice I just might choose it over its more expensive but maybe just a bit too neutral colleagues. I have to say that I could live with any one of them and call it a day.
 
My first great TT. I have a ‘72 version with receipts and will rebuild this year. It will give the LP12 a hard time.
 
I had a TD150.
The upgrade to an LP12 using the same arm was a giant improvement.
 
Mike P said:
I can't agree with that. The TD150 is truly great budget deck but the TD125 is far far superior and on a different level.
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I realise this is the general consensus, but I've owned two TD125s and was massively underwhelmed by them both. In fact I bought the second as the first was a bit of a basket case that I had to rebuild, and I assumed its underwhelming sound was due to the hard life it had led. The second, however, was in superb, original condition and sounded just as bad to my ears!
 
Beobloke said:
I realise this is the general consensus, but I've owned two TD125s and was massively underwhelmed by them both. In fact I bought the second as the first was a bit of a basket case that I had to rebuild, and I assumed its underwhelming sound was due to the hard life it had led. The second, however, was in superb, original condition and sounded just as bad to my ears!
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It would be interesting to try and figure out why exactly. The TD-125 is clearly very different in having a cast chassis and electronic speed control. No idea about platter mass. The TD-150 is a much more simple and lightly built design. I get the impression Thorens really had an eye on the price tag with the 150 and wanted to get it in as cheap as possible. The 125 had less constraints as it was intended as the 124 replacement. I’m very curious as to what they got wrong with the later more expensive design. There is a significant difference in the main bearing of (I think most) 125s too in that they were a single-point like the late-60s Sony and later Ariston/LP12, rather than a captive ball like the 124 or 150. I’ve no direct experience here beyond hearing both decks in totally unrelated environments and liking them.
 
I had a TD150 MkII as my second hifi turntable. Complete with an SME arm and a decent MM Ortofon cartridge, I took it to university, where fellow students would bring their prized LP's to listen to. When I eventually replaced it with a Lenco '75, with Rega arm and Goldring 1042 cart, I realized what I was missing with the Thorens. I think the original arm let it down, and the SME wasn't that much better!
 
Tony L said:
It would be interesting to try and figure out why exactly. The TD-125 is clearly very different in having a cast chassis and electronic speed control. No idea about platter mass. The TD-150 is a much more simple and lightly built design. I get the impression Thorens really had an eye on the price tag with the 150 and wanted to get it in as cheap as possible. The 125 had less constraints as it was intended as the 124 replacement. I’m very curious as to what they got wrong with the later more expensive design. There is a significant difference in the main bearing of (I think most) 125s too in that they were a single-point like the late-60s Sony and later Ariston/LP12, rather than a captive ball like the 124 or 150. I’ve no direct experience here beyond hearing both decks in totally unrelated environments and liking them.
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They didn't get the TD125 wrong if you ask me! I've owned both and the TD125 is clearly the better deck to my ears. I'd absolutely put it on the same level as the TD124 but it does have a different presentation, as you'd expect.

The TD125 mk1 units generally had a ball bearing at the tip of the spindle and the TD125 mk2 have a single point type tip but there does seem to be a crossover period where late mk1's have the Mk2 type spindle. the Mk1 and Mk2 also have different motors and speed control circuits.

The platters are the same basic design between the TD150 and TD125 (circa 2kg Zamak alloy) but the TD150 platters I've had have not been balanced whereas the TD125 platters I've had have all been balanced.

The TD125 is probably a good deal quieter than the TD150 and that might be perceived as overly polite or 'dull' by some people I suppose. Not to me.
 
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