Fixing Up Old Thorens

You may get this up and running for almost no money. No doubt a new belt is needed. Get one intended for Thorens turntables, as they are slightly narrower than most generic replacement belts. If you are up to it, clean and lube the spindle bearing otherwise just add a drop or two of oil to the bearing well. See the analog dept website for more help. The TD 150 Mk II was (and still is) an excellent turntable, including the tonearm. If you are not sure how many hours are in the stylus, get a new one or replace the cartridge.

Have to agree with Goofytwoshoes. I recently bought a nice old TD160 and other than cleaning and adding a touch of Synthetic oil to the bearing..Still have the original belt.. No extra cost except for clening materials and 1 can of Synthetic oil.. Looks and works great...Pick up a cheap cartridge ( before you heavily in invest ) to see what type of cartridge you want to spend real money on..Give it a litle time and use what you have on hand first......

Hi guys I recently purchased a Thorens TD 150 (MK 1 I think). I added a RB300 tonearm with Ortofon red.The initial test was very disapointing, with vertually no bass. Any ideas as to why this is happening? I have a decent amp and speakers. I am a joiner and am really looking forward to building a new plinth from maple and a lovely piece of ebony for the arm board, but my enthusiasim has waned with the poor bass level.

Tomjacksons, the lack of bass likely means that the platter is now too close to the top plate and you need to adjust the springs. There is a good tutorial at the analogdept site, and this post at Vinyl Engine from a former Thorens employee will also help you learn how to do this--http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7020&highlight=justage

Scroll down to the post by Violette. On that-auction-site the poster Violette (Joel) also sells wonderful lubricants and Thorens-spec belts for the various Thorens models.

Also at VE is a Thorens overhaul guide (authored by Violette) that you might print for reference, it's terrific.

Jim

to Tomjacksons :

I have the same experience with the Rega RB300 on another turntable. It seems to have a very "midrange" sound. Very weak bass. As far as i can remember speed accuracy = good treble and all the bass is essentially in the arm...