| [ Thorens TD 124 MK I turntable ] |
After an intensive research in almost all the hi-fi shops in my city I found this wondeful TT. The Thorens TD 124 is one of the best turntables of audio history, with the Garrards 301 and 401. Thorens has been manufacturing excelent turntables during 104 years and the TD 124 is an example of this excellence. In Great Britain this TT is considered a reference due to its quality. Fitted with a good tonearm and cartridge it can beat even newer units. It is so good that the people of Hi-Fi World has included it in their recommended products list and it has been chosen as one of the european audio components of the century by Hi-Fi News and Record review magazine.
The TD 124 belongs to the build-like-a-tank brigade. It is the heaviest thing I've never seen. The platter weigths almost 8 kg. and all the parts have the swiss touch of class. The platter axis is perfectly mechanized. This, plus its weight, allows the platter to spin for a long time with a little impulse. On the platter there's an aluminium cover that acts as a record mat and also as a single adapter. The motor unit is really big. Its movement it's transmited by means of a belt to an aluminum disc with different diameters that acts as a speed selector. This aluminium disc acts on the iddler wheel that transmites the spin to the platter. This is an interesting combination of belt drive and direct drive transmision. The user could select from 4 different speeds in the TD 124: 16, 33,45 and 78 rpm.This is done mechanically and the selected speed could be adjusted with the help of an stroboscope. The unit could be fitted with any arm just changing the standard arm base with one with the rigth dimensions.
Now I'm restoring the TD 124. I have just designed a new MDF plinth. I would like to fit in this unit the excelent SME 3012R tonearm and a Rega Elys cartridge (but perhaps in a future I will fit a Shure V15VxMR, better suited to the 3012R). I think I will finish the restoration in the summer of 1999. Now I show some photographs to illustrate what I'm saying about the TD 124.
Attention!! The restoring process of the TD 124 is finished. The new plinth, the new tonearm base and that final touch...(Goldring cones and a plate with the name and model of the unit). The machine looks now great. I like it much more than my TD 166 MK VI. And it sounds really great. Here you have some photographs.
By the way, the british magazine HI-FI News and Record Review has selected the TD 124 one of the best european audio components of the 20th century. I agree with them.
October 21st, 2002-I have rebuilt a new TD 124 MK II, so the plynth you can see here it's now with this new unit. I have started to build a new plynth for the TD 124 MK I and here you can see some photos of it. I will use a fabulous SME 312 tonearm with the TD 124 MK I and a Benz Micro Silver cartridge from my TD 166 that is ready to go. The plynth will be painted in red wine colour, the Audio Nirvana colour.
In the following days more pictures of the finished turntable. Keep tuned.
November 26th, 2002-Well, here you can see the images of the finished TD124. It's red...it has to be wine red, but..... Anyway....I think that the TD124 is a Formula 1 turntable so this Ferrari-like red doesn't looks too bad. And if I get tired of this colour I always could paint it again.
