Thorens TD 160 or 126? Which better?

ok,so how is the stock arm on the 160???
and-good $100 cartridge?

The TP16 MkI w/ Magnesium headshell is somewhat underrated for a vintage arm imo but would need total rewiring to really sound its best at this point. It used good quality horizontal bearings and at med. 16.5g eff mass is compatible with alot of carts. Only thing is the headshell is a bottom mount only which can be a pain in the neck.

As for total arm mass, compared to say a RB300, I don't think its much lighter but could be wrong? The suspension springs on the TD160 are also adjustable, so a little weight variance in arm should be of no consequence.

My experience is the opposite of the poster above in that the RB300 at 11.5 grams eff mass being a med mass arm is compatible with a broad range of cartridges, cart mounting is also a breeze. I like the sound also but prefer a modded/upgraded RB251 over a RB300 anytime.

Hi Viridian, You can repeat your 'IMHO' as many times as
you like but it is obvious that you have very strong opinion about Rega. The question is: who cares? The Rega has already established status as the best arm for the money.
Regarding the compatibility question there are many unsolved issues. In the other threads one can read about the havy weight FR-66 s used with MM carts with fantastic
resuls ( see: Halcro in MM thread). So your 'theoretical' assumptions are refuted by experimental results. Because of the price tag (one need to save somewhere) the only thing one need to improve is the wiring. To be more specific from the collar on. This part is worthless and the ground wire is connected to one of the RCA connectors. One can change this part by installing 5 din connector in the collar tube and then use the regular phonocable of his choice. Or, if one is brave, replace the whole with a new
wiring form tags till the phono-pre.

Regards,