Inner Tracks Sound Raspy

I'll take you at your word the arm is properly configured. There are parameters other than VTF and VTA. Some you can control and other are set when the arm is attached to the plinth.

However, two issues. First, a pivoted tonearm scribes an arc across a record. That means you can only achieve a good average for being perpendicular to the groove. At most spots on the record, you're going to be slightly off. Change a setting to perfect that for one spot, and then you're off at others.

Second, since the diameter of the record decreases as move toward the record's label area, the spiral of the groove's arc tightens. That inherently increases distortion.

One problem could be that a record may have subtle permanent damage from prior playing. If that's the case, you may be stuck with the distortion. However, I would expect that condition to vary quite a bit from record to record in your collection.

While inner grooves inherently have more issues than the outer ones, that shouldn't automatically mean audible problems. If every record has the problem, I think you're back to a setup issue. You might try rechecking if the distance from the pivot point to the stylus is correct, and also double check to make sure your cartridge doesn't yaw to the left or right. Also double check the anti-skate setting. The centrifugal force increases as the spiral tightens.

Good luck!

Thanks Misstl. I'll experiment with the tracking force. If centrifugal force increases as the spiral tightens, is it better to adjust tracking with a bias towards more or less force. I assume that the readings on the gauge are just estimates anyway, so I would think changing anti-skating force is at best a rough estimate of what's needed.

I think your comment regarding the condition of my records may be correct. The inner track distortion does vary somewhat from record to record, but even still, there seems to be more distortion coming from the inner tracks of even the better records.

Your comment regarding perpendicular arms causes me to remember the old days when the Rabco arm was the state of the art. However, for some reason, I suspect that even straight tracking arms present their own engineering problems. I guess that's why most arms are still pivot types.

Do you think that a better modern arm, like a Rega RB 301, would do a better job? I was thinking about an upgrade anyway, matched possibly with a Clearaudio Maestro Wood or Ortofon 2M Black cartridge.

One other possibility is they missed something in the reconditioning of your Thorens - perhaps a tonearm bearing that is a bit worn, dirty or under-lubricated and has a bit more resistance toward the label area.

You might check if a local dealer will let you demo a newer turntable. If the problem goes away with the new model then you've clearly established the Thorens needs a bit more work.