DSJR
Major Contributor
Puts on dealer hat yet again -So, you guys know that my turntable is a Thorens TD-166II with the stock TP-11 tone arm and an Audio-Technica AT440MLa cartridge. I have restored the turntable to operate as well as possible, including replacing the plastic slip-clutch pulley with an aftermarket pulley made from aluminum, and, just for the fun of it, obtaining a preowned external frequency-agile AC power supply so that I could run the belt on the large pulley and control speed externally.
Other than having to replace the belt once a year, it's working reliably and it looks good to the wife.
So, to the subject of this post: A friend of mine is sending me his Linn Axis turntable, which he bought new in maybe 1986 after both of us received a demo. It has a Basik tone arm and I don't know what cartridge. (EDIT: The cartridge is a K9.) (He's also sending me the turntable he had before he bought the Linn.) The Linn is not working at the moment, so I'll have to repair it if possible. Assuming I am able to do that, what say you guys? Is this an improvement over the Thorens (I doubt it would be audible, so that's not the answer I'm looking for)? Mor reliable than always wondering if the belt has gone bad? Reasonable resistance to mechanical vibration and acoustic feedback? Tonearm mass consistent with high-compliance catridges?
Preamp will be the Holman I recently renovated which has considerable flexibility vis a vis loading capacitance and impedance.
Rick "just beginning to look into it" Denney
Get hold of the cast platter from the TD160 (there are at least two spindle diameters involved here) and replace the skimmed plastic hub of the 166. I've no idea why (and a 440MLa pickup may hide it a bit), but I could never get as good a subjective performance out of a 166 than I could a 160 and back then, the only tonearm difference was thread and weight bias correction as against the magnetic arrangement of the TP16 on the TD160 and that shouldn't affect the sound at all really.
Thorens decks in the UK run slightly fast as most Regas do. I have a thicker third party 'replacement' belt which runs perfectly to speed at 33, but the blasted thing won't ride up to '45' due to added stiffness. GREAT idea to use the proper belt (the Thakker one is identical, or mine was) and change it annually if used a lot.
While the bearing is apart, check the thrust pad at the bottom of the well as they wear noticeably after half a century of fairly regular use (TD150s at least will be knackered by now but can't speak for the 125 which looks similar in both versions). I helped mine with a 1mm thick ptfe disc the right diameter gently eased down - the platter now takes ages to spin down as new ones did (before, this well-loved and used example [replaced by a Gyrodek] came to a stop rather more quickly than I remember new ones doing). I got the recommended DTE-medium oil for the motor bearings and used Mobil Vactra 68 slideway oil for the main bearing, as I was told it's safe on sintered sleeves and very similar to the wonderful stuff Dual used to use. Some Thorens bearings had slop which is a sonic killer and a slightly heavier oil can help here without messing things up.
Apologies for the stuff above, but hope you or any other Thorens owner may find it useful.
Oh, and if it's the stock flat rubber mat of the TD160 family, the EMT style type as used on the TD160 Super and 147 'Jubilee' model is better for record support and I've also used on my ton-up TD160, a heavy Avon rubber mat (suspension adjusted accordingly) and an Oracle squidge-mat I somehow have here. Anything but the flat thing Thorens styled for the TD160 series originally (Colloms measured it as well I seem to recall, while giving the deck a Best Buy regardless).
Aftermarket damping kits may help, as the pressed sub-chassis thuds through to the stylus if disturbed, but they cost a kings ransom sadly.