It is not my best component, but it’s my favorite component, largely out of nostalgia: My Thorens TD166 MKII turntable. I still own it and use it. I bought it (with my parents’ help) in 1977 or 1978, at Audio Consultants in Evanston, Illinois, while I was still in High School. After 15-20 years in storage, in 2018 I brought it back into the Audio Consultants shop, had it serviced and overhauled, and a new cartridge (an Ortofon 2M Bronze Verso) installed, and put it into service in my system. It was great to see the owner Simon, who sold me the turntable so many years ago, in the shop. While getting the turntable sorted, I also bought several new components from Audio Consultants to get a great 2-channel system up and running. Simon has since retired, and Audio Consultants is now closed, to my sadness and dismay (but happiness for Simon). This may not be a top of the line turntable, but it still sounds great. And, I was loyal to that shop for more than 40 years, having bought many things there over the years.
