Thorens TD 124 or TD 125 MK.

Which model Thorens vintage turntable you keep is entirely your call. Assuming you have played both, which do you prefer or like best?

I'm a TD-124 guy. It's the swiss watch of turntables, which is both good and bad. Good in that when restored and set up properly it sounds (and looks) sublime. Bad in that it takes a lot of patience and, often, $$$ to get it to sound it's best.

The TD-125 was a nod to a simpler, much less expensive to produce design than the TD-124. It's an OK deck but is nothing special. My opinion only, and there are many who will disagree with me. I have owned and restored TD-124s for over 30 years and have owned a couple of TD-125s. There is no upgrade or amount of work you can perform on a TD-125 that will get it anywhere close to the sound of a properly restored TD-124. Again IMO.

It's like comparing a 1957 Mercedes Benz 300SL to a 1960 VW Bug. Both classics. Both cars. Both get you where you want to go. If you could only keep one, which one would it be?

I bought a new TD-125 MK.2 in 1973. Mechanically it was fine for the time, but I had a lot of problems with it's electronics. It was in the authorized service center numerous times, the problem never eradicated. They should have just replaced the whole board. If I had been older and more knowledgeable, I would have insisted they do so.

I am a 124 owner; as a kid a friend's dad had a 125 which was drool worthy back in the day, but I can't speak about it from a SQ perspective.

The TD124, as mentioned by BR3098, requires diligence in set-up and it has to be a labor of love. If you enjoy that sort of thing, it is very rewarding, both because you can work on it and improve, and more importantly, because a properly set up 124 will stand with any Turntable. I have compared my directly with SME's top of the line and they were different, but equally good. I have about 6k invested in mine.

I agree that you should keep both of the Thorens if you can. I have four Thorens tables, and have owned or played with plenty of other nice tables for comparison. The TD 124 is hands down the best of the lot, and the gap between it and the TD 125 Mk. II is significant. That said, the TD 125 I got off Craigslist for a pittance performs as well or better than everything else I have or have had other than the 124. Better than a well-equipped Clearaudio Champion. And at least as well, if not better, than my SOTA Sapphire.

While it’s a less direct comparison, I picked up the 125 after auditioning a newish and heavily modded VPI Scout (surrounded by better equipment than I owned at the time), and being completely underwhelmed at how it compared to the TD 160 I was upgrading from. To my ears, that TD 160 was much better than the VPI; and the 125, in turn, is dramatically better than the 160.