Thorens, TD-125 MKII

I bought a TD-125 Mk.2 new in '73. It was defective out of the box: bad electronics. I had it in the warranty station I don't know how many times, and finally sold it. Tell your friend to look for a VPI HW-19 Mk.2, 3, or 4. Much better table imo.

An excellent TT - when working!

I went with Soundsmith. Carmen II (medium compliance) MI cart..

Ortofon Black is a real keeper for a MM cart.

Both are right at 700-1,000.00

No SUT needed either..

I’m using an external Decware ZP3 for a phono/tape preamp from a 40 year old Ear and a few Macs with serious tweaked phono stages... I have a Puffin that is a real keeper for the money too.. Great for recording/playback and just so tweakable..

You need a decent phono stage, to go with your cart choice.. Both of these carts work well with either phono stage, ZP3 or the Puffin.

Regards

What tonearm does it have?

Mine has an SME 3009 II non-improved, but I have seen TD125's with two different versions of the Thorens TP16 tonearm.

One version has a fairly high effective mass (15+ grams) and the later version is much lower (7-8 grams).

This should be taken into consideration when selecting a cartridge.

DeKay

The TP16 tonearm was an upgrade from the MK1 to the MK2. I have a TP16 on my TD160 and it’s just OK, nothing to rave about but it’s functional. Mission tonearms as well as the SME tonearms were popular upgrades. The vintage Thorens tables are a project. If that’s your friends aim, to improve on an old Thorens, then have fun and in the end, it’ll be worth it. Otherwise, how about a Rega? Rega’s aren’t built like a VPI but they sound very good given there price point.