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Technics or Thorens, need suggestions

I've been looking to get into Analog for quite some time now. So long that I've been collecting Vinyl with a dream of finally getting a nice TT.  Analog is an uncharted territory for me. I've been researching on my free time and have come up with a couple possibilities. 

Thorens TD 1600 
Technics 1200G

Budget is around 3-5k without a cartridge . I have Mcintosh C2600 which I intend to use for phono. 

I like the aesthetics of Thorens much more than Technics. 

My research showed that Technics is a superb TT for the price. How do these two compare? 

my systems: Mcintosh MC452/C2600/Sonus Faber Elipsa
                     mastersound 845 integrated/ diapason adamantes 3
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Showing 3 responses by mijostyn

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
You can always add weight to the magic wand. Thorens tonearm bearings are excellent. Low compliance cartridges dominate the Japanese market so they put boat anchors on all their tables. They also have a thing for S shaped arms. It must be because they can't pronounce their R's. 
The only thing you can say about the Technics is that they are well made and slick looking and pretty cheap which is why people fall for them.
Americans love cheap well made garbage. Well, maybe not so well made in most cases. Buy American. SOTA is working on a tonearm by the way. They are running out of OEM manufacturers.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Noromance, I have nothing against Technics. I think they make a great cartridge for the money. I dislike all direct drive turntables because every last one I have ever heard on a system I deemed to be excellent sounded less than stellar and that includes older SP 10s. (Have not heard the newest version so I can't comment on it.) 
There are so many excellent belt drives out there with wow and flutter specs down around 0.03%. The SP 10 is 0.015%. If you think you can hear the difference then you need to take Michael Fremer's place on the staff of Stereophile. 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Absolutely the Thorens if you don't like listening to oscillating eddy currents and other direct drive artifacts. The Thorens will also have a much more flexible tone arm on it. The one on the Technics is a boat anchor. If you plan on using a high compliance moving magnet cartridge like the Ortofon  2M back you have no choice. It is much easier to add mass than it is to take it away.
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