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Originally Posted by derekbmn /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Agreed! It is complete nonsense. The week link is the RCA cables running from the platic "junction box" below the tonearm.
The replacement of these makes for a HUGE improvement. The stock cabling is very poor and seems to oxidize easily.
The replacement of the headshell leads is also a good thing to do.
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I've had a Thorens TD160 BC and now I have a TD125 MkII. In my experience the stock arms are ok to get you started or if you care about keeping the deck in original condition for collectors purposes...but there are much much better arms out there vintage or modern if you want to get the best from the Thorens.
After experimenting with SME ( 3009 S2 / Series III) and Linn ( LVV / LVX / LVII ) I ended up with TD125 fitted with an Origin Live modded Rega, which is a pretty formidable sounding deck even by modern standards.
The reason why the stock Thorens arms are criticised is that they are really not upto the same standards as the motorboard. Don't get me wrong, a stock Thorens is a very fine deck. They are well on par with anything you'll buy today for 500USD easily, but most of the tonearm designs are now quite dated compared to what you'd find on a Pro-Ject or Rega ( although in almost every other aspect the Thorens are far superior).
Of course I agree that rewiring will certainly yield big improvements if you are adept at that sort of thing. But it can be a fiddly pig of a job even on a simple arm like the Rega RB300, much easier to send it to a specialist like
Audio Origami.
But then it's probably more cost effective to just swop out a better arm. The Thorens suspension is light an bouncy on the 150/160 series so will work better with fairly light arms like the SME 3009 which is the classic pairing. In North America you might find it easier to get hold of an Infinity Black Widow or ADC arm.
Modern arms like the Jelco are perfect and I reckon the Pro-Ject Carbon would also be a pretty good match. Fitted with something like this the Thorens becomes a much more serious proposition able to mix it up with decks into the VPI class.