Thorens turntable experts

dtmark

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I think I'm nearing the end of my project to resurrect my record collection.

At first I thought the best answer was to buy new, however having three faulty new decks in a row, I reverted back to getting my old Thorens TD150 Mk II - which I suspected was beyond redemption - running again.

It's working, the motor seems fine, I can't hear any speed instability. It has an SME 3009 tonearm which I think was said to be good. Have put on a new belt, and I've adjusted the suspension myself, though it's a bit hit and miss since I'm not an expert.

What I'm looking for is to take it to an expert with these to get it fine tuned and make the most of it. I may need a new cartridge fitted so I would hope to get that done at the same time and to bring it home with it "as good as it can be".

My searches haven't turned up much though - someone in the US and another in Chesterfield.

The thing is rather fragile so I really don't want to send it in the post, I'd rather take and collect though this will probably involve a trip. Happy to "spend what it costs", I'd have thought £500 should do it.

We're on the border of Surrey and Hampshire. Does anyone here know of anyone vaguely close by who could do this?
 
dtmark said:
I think I'm nearing the end of my project to resurrect my record collection.

At first I thought the best answer was to buy new, however having three faulty new decks in a row, I reverted back to getting my old Thorens TD150 Mk II - which I suspected was beyond redemption - running again.

It's working, the motor seems fine, I can't hear any speed instability. It has an SME 3009 tonearm which I think was said to be good. Have put on a new belt, and I've adjusted the suspension myself, though it's a bit hit and miss since I'm not an expert.

What I'm looking for is to take it to an expert with these to get it fine tuned and make the most of it. I may need a new cartridge fitted so I would hope to get that done at the same time and to bring it home with it "as good as it can be".

My searches haven't turned up much though - someone in the US and another in Chesterfield.

The thing is rather fragile so I really don't want to send it in the post, I'd rather take and collect though this will probably involve a trip. Happy to "spend what it costs", I'd have thought £500 should do it.

We're on the border of Surrey and Hampshire. Does anyone here know of anyone vaguely close by who could do this?

Any knowledgeable Hi-Fi dealer should be able to set your TT up nicely as most are similar in their design. Check in your area and give them a ring would be my suggestion.

I'd look at Guildford Audio who deal in a lot of second hand gear and P J Hi-Fi also in Guildford.

There's also Surrey Hi-Fi Repairs based in Leatherhead I believe, a quick Google should find you either.
 

dtmark

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I may be in luck. I thought to have a look at the Thorens website (in my ignorance I didn't even know they were still making turntables) and the UK's "authorised distributor" isn't too far away, in Bucks.

http://www.ukd.co.uk

Perhaps I'm looking at it a bit like trying to restore an antique and finding a really qualified specialist with it. I'm sure many places could do a competent job, but I'd really prefer it to be somewhere that sells and knows these decks really well.

I did digress to looking at their new range, and it's very sexy and well-reviewed. Makes me wonder why nobody seems to sell this kit any more. Must.. keep.. focused :) though if it's going to be very expensive then I could consider a new one instead whilst I'm there.
 

penfold_001

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Hi,

You could try "Hi-Fi Hangar" down in Bordon (just down the A3 from me in Guildford).

Check out their website/Facebook page for more info.

They have a Turntable Servicing department.

They buy and sell vintage kit so they are performing these types of services on older decks all the time.

The owner Steve bought some of my old kit off me when I upgraded and he loves his vinyl!

Regards,

Shaun Harvey
 

dtmark

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MrTeroo said:
They are on Richings Way in Iver. It's all residential properties down there so it looks like it may be someone working from home.

Good spot. Though on further investigation (as in: actually spend time reading the site) it's the distributor and the nearest store/dealer is in Salisbury which isn't too far to travel, about 40 minutes.

They even have an ex-demo TD-309 for £795. I wonder how that compares with my old deck. Wish I hadn't looked now :)
 

MrTeroo

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Does the shop recommended by Penfold not interest you?

I may make a detour to visit them myself when I'm down in Windsor next. All that lovely vintage equipment!

I would leave with a lighter bank balance :)
 

dtmark

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MrTeroo said:
Does the shop recommended by Penfold not interest you?

I may make a detour to visit them myself when I'm down in Windsor next. All that lovely vintage equipment!

I would leave with a lighter bank balance :)

Very much so - not only is it about a 15 minute drive away - as near as it's going to get - but it inspires confidence in me and it's a really good find. As it stands that's my #1 option so Penfold is a star :)
 

penfold_001

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No worries!
regular_smile.gif


Please let me know how you get on.

I'm looking at getting my Mission 775LC Serviced at some point in the future.

So, I'd be interested as to how you get on wherever you decide to go as I'm just down the road from you!
 

MajorFubar

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Doh...pitty you're so far away. I've used mine for 40 years, if I don't know how to set it up properly by now it's hard lines, and I'd have done it for £free (though a beer or two would have been nice).
 

dtmark

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MajorFubar said:
Doh...pitty you're so far away. I've used mine for 40 years, if I don't know how to set it up properly by now it's hard lines, and I'd have done it for £free (though a beer or two would have been nice).

That's very nice of you :) I'm just waiting on a replacement stylus for my Goldring 1042 and then I'll see if I can get it booked in to the place in Bordon to check it all over and make sure it's optimised.

A contrast: two Rega decks, brand new, both faulty. This might well be 40 years old, motor still going fine, carried from house to house, unused for about 15 years, and it works almost flawlessly save for the belt not flipping smoothly from the 33 to 45 position - it snags a little but gets there - just needs a bit of TLC and fine-tuning.

And it's an automatic speed change. Hallelujah. The belt on the RP3 was already slipping on start-up caused by hand-stretching every time you have to move it manually to change the speed (most of my records are 12" singles so a mix of 33 and 45). That's not a fault with the Rega, the manual change is something I thought I could live with, but it seems farcical in this day and age. The mechanical automated shift on the Thorens seems the best of both worlds.

Have replaced the belt (and got it the right way around with the text facing outwards, read that online) and a dealer sorted out the dodgy connections on the tonearm for me.

I can't say with certainty that it's a better sounding deck than Rega's RP3 because I never tried that with the SME tonearm and a good cartridge, lost all confidence in Rega, but I do remember it sounding incredible and it's probably why I'm so judgmental about modern kit and especially CD. I was spoiled before :)

Penfold, shall report back.
 

MajorFubar

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Must admit I haven't ever been tempted to trade mine in for something newer. I don't doubt that better exists, clearly it does, but I'm not confident I could justify the price. The SME arm you have there is a peach providing it's not been messed with too much. In short I'd shelve any thoughts you may have about comparing your set-up to modern alternatives with a view to getting something better, unless you intend to throw lots of cash around.

With regards to the temperamental speed-change, sadly this often goes hand in hand with this deck to a certain degree, along with all the other belt-drive TD decks that use the same-or-similar fork-lift arrangement to flip the belt between the wide and narrow diameters of the pulley. Use isopropyl alcohol to clean both the motor pulley and the inner turntable hub, because residue on both of these can affect the deck's willingness to flip speeds. Also if the inner hub isn't sitting perfectly level (commonly because someone's cocked about with the suspension), this too will affect speed-change. Additionally, residue from old belts on the inner hub will affect speed stability.

Sometimes when you select 45rpm, the belt partly moves up to the higher pully but fails to fully make it, and generally you'll know when this has happened because you can hear the belt scraping on the fork. Don't be afraid to spin the turntable a bit faster with your finger on the record label for a couple of turns (obviously NOT while it's playing!!) while quickly flicking the switch to 33 and immediately back again with your other hand; this is often enough to persuade the driveband to complete its travel and behave, and does no damage to your deck.
 

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