Any one old enough to remember?


30 or so years ago when I was a grad student I bought a Thorens TD125MK-II turntable and mounted a "Formula 4" arm and a Sonus Blue cartridge on it. After storing it a number of years, I've set it up again and rediscovered my record collection - some horrors and some delights. Since I've recently upgraded my... well, I admit it, everything else... I'm now faced with a decision. Do I replace my elderly cartridge? the cartridge and arm? the whole thing?

Anyone been around long enough to remember anything about this arm and cartridge to know wheher it is worth keeping the arm and replacing the cartridge, or to advise me on how well my old Thorens (which still maintains its speed after a belt transplant) is likely to stack up against newer stuff? I've read a number of the other analog threads, but not seen this particular issue addressed.

Your collective wisdom would be most appreciated. Let's say for the sake of conversation that my budget for a completely new setup could be $1500-2000.

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lfb44

Showing 3 responses by lfb44

Old? Of course not - just around long enough to realize that popular choices come and go.

In reply to your questions and suggestions - using the records is unlikely to be a passing interest. When I (re)married a few years back, my bride arrived with a LARGE collection of vinyl that complemented my own. And, like many of the rest of you, I've discovered that records can sound as good or better than most CDs on a good system. After buying solid state equipment over the years, I recently treated myself to a set of new Maggies (3.6) and quickly came to the conclusion that I (and they) like living with tubes. So lots of things are changing and the turntable may have to be one of them.

Has my/our hearing changed since I/we were teenagers - you bet if you are over 50. After that we all start to develop presby-something - presbyopia, presbyosmia and/or presbyaudia. Hopefully the trade-offs are worth it - and the pockets are deeper.

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My thanks to all of you for the suggestions. With so many threads comparing the latest and greatest tables and arms, it is nice to know that some of the older combos are still (if nothing else) remembered with affection. Thorens has apparently gone out of the business of making turntables. If I can find information about lubricating and maintaining mine, I'll probably do that - ditto if I can figure out how to mount and adjust an appropriate cartridge on the Formula 4 arm. If not, I'll probably take the path of least resistance (time-wise) and indulge myself by starting from scratch. Listening last evening I realized that some of what I'm hearing during loud passages is mistracking.

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