[Quacker]

Well I made the leep and bought myself a used Thorens 160 and was wondering how I could add to it to make my first delve into vinyl an enjoyable one.

I also bough my first records two Allmans Brothers albums and one Jethro Tull live album used for like a buck. my dad has a whole bunch though

I was looking around craigslist and found a NAD 7240PE which I am concidering buying to use as my phonostage and was also planning on buying a new cartrage to replace the sure 92me that seems to have somewhat of a croked stylus.

Planning on listening to the table through my Pimeta to my MS-1s till I can get a decent pair of speakers.

Dont have loads of cash but am I on the right track to vintage vinyl bliss? Any sugestions on purchases or setup options/tweeks to make my rig in the making better would be greatly apreciated.

Quacker

 

[fewtch]

http://www.theanalogdept.com

Virtually all good tweaks can be found at the above site. Personally, I'd recommend the grounding tweak above all... the TD160 is poorly grounded stock, and it's preferable to run a separate ground wire from the tonearm/chassis and disconnect the one hooked to the RCA jack ground.

Oh yeah... oil that platter bearing!

 

[Mr.Radar]

Be sure to read up on proper turntable setup to ensure that your stylus lasts long and your records don't wear out quickly. I'd reccomend this article for starts. The key items to get right are alignment, azimuth, and VTF (with VTF its better to track too heavy than it is to track too light). Some tools I'd reccomend getting are the Shure SFG-2 ($20 at TTVJ) and the TurntableBasics.com mirrored alignment protractor. A stroboscopic speed tester and test record would also be nice to have, but they're more expensive than the other two and not as essential.

 

[memepool]

The TD160 is a fine turntable although the stock Thorens tonearms can be rather hit and miss depending on which version you have. It is eminently upgradeable...

UK mag Hi-fi World has a write up and upgrade path

http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/hfw/olde...renstd150.html

A lot of ebay sellers have sprung up catering to exactly this market. You can get new arm mounts and plinths as well as stuff like the SRM Tech Thorens upgrade kit which is meant to be pretty good.

Simple stuff worth doing is to change the platter mat to an SRM Tech silicone one which really improves the clarity and dulls down the resonances of the platter.

Longterm I would recommend changing the stock Thorens arm (if you have one) to a Linn LVX which are quite cheap 2nd hand and then the plinth which is pretty easy if you know anyone who can do simple woodwork and yields massive improvments.

I got so far as sourcing a Linn Valhalla power supply for my TD160 BC II before finding a Thorens TD125 which is a much better deck so I sold on the 160.

If I had the space I would have kept it though as it really does sound amazing on percussion.