Ok but what about the original question , Thorens 124 or Linn 12???The LP-12 and the TD-124 are both supremely well-executed examples of completely different approaches to building a turntable . . . the comparison is like Porsche vs. Ferrari . . . a practically unanswerable question.
Edgar Villchur's original AR turntable was designed to address many of the specific problems of mid-20th-century idler-drive turntables (rumble, motor noise, and acoustic feedback), and it did so very successfully. The LP-12 is based on the AR design . . . and one thing it's hard to fault Ivor Tiefenbrun for is his persistent, dogged determination to improve it, little by little, year after year. And just like the Porsche 911, the people that never liked it . . . still don't like it. Tiefenbrun himself is also a polarizing personality, and many people don't like him . . . and dislike the LP-12 out of proxy.
The TD-124, on the other hand, exudes all of the attributes that we value in a piece of fine machinery, and because of this it's satisfying to own, work on, and operate in a way that the LP-12 simply cannot match. Those negative attributes that define the performance of most idler-drive turntables are very effectively dealt with in the TD124, mostly by sheer manufacturing prowess. And the traditional Achilles' heel of a traditional suspended turntable - variation in pitch with suspension movement - is completely absent.
In the end, if one's looking for the turntable of their dreams . . . both of these machines are "required listening".