What TT upgrade from tweaked Thorens TD160

This evening I removed the springs and replaced them with drilled-out zebrawood blocks which completely eliminated the footfall problem. However, while it sounded good there was a bit of harshness (loss of 'magic'?) to it so tomorrow I will try the auto heater hose solution described in the link Armstrod suggested.

Thank you all very much for putting me on the path to solving a longstanding problem. I really appreciate your thoughtful recommendations. I'd just about given up on vinyl since it had become so inconvenient and I did not really want to spend the money to replace the 160. It now seems that experimenting with various solid materials to replace the springs will allow me to tweak the solid suspension approach to refine the sound.

Jgiacalo,

That's great news. The ability to trouble-shoot, adjust and tweak sonic results is part of the attraction of vinyl replay. Or maybe it's part of the annoyance. I sometimes forget which! ;-)

In addition to trying various footers to tame that newfound bit of edginess, you should also try very small adjustments in VTF and VTA. A slight increase in the former or decrease in the latter might do the trick.

Tolerate equipment, enjoy music!
Doug

whatever you do, keep that table.

I will keep the table. Good advice. And, will play with adjusting the VTA - right now I have it about level to just a bit down in the back. What kind of differences do you notice with VTF and VTA adjustments?
Also I just finished installing the heater hoses and will test it later today after I clean the garage.
By the way, I picked up this 160 at a yard sale last summer for $10. I was amazed that it sounded so much better than my Music Hall MMF5 and sold the latter soon afterward.

VTF

- too light allows mistracking by the stylus. Since HF modulations are the hardest to track, they take on a slight "tizziness" or edge as the stylus struggles to trace them cleanly.

- too heavy dulls HF's and diminishes overall dynamics. The music sounds sodden.

- just right gives HF's that are fully extended but clean, and maximum bass and dynamics.

VTA

- too high tends to reproduce HF's slightly before LF's. This gives sounds a bit of fizz or edge.

- too low tends to reproduce LF's slightly before HF's. This makes things sound dull or unexciting.

- just right gets all the frequencies of a note centered. Everything from LF to HF is coordinated with maximum punch.

VTF and VTA are inter-related. Changing one often effects the other. It can drive you nuts if you let it. Some people take that as a challenge to get it right. Others don't want the distraction and prefer to just enjoy the music the way it is. The right way is whatever way you feel most comfortable.