[paki976]

Hi all, just to introduce my Well Tempered Thorens Hybrid 



Any good reason it shouldn't work ? I'm actually listen to it and to my ears this combo make any cartridge sing, even a cheap shure m55e....

I've been told that that arm shouldn't work very well on suspended tables (but the more i think about it the more I'm dubious).....

[mgsboedmisodpc2]

paki976 wrote "I've been told that that arm shouldn't work very well on suspended tables"

A famous StereoPhile reviewer's reference was a well tempered arm mounted onto a Sota Star turntable so that premise is incorrect.

[threadkiller]

Yep, ol J Gordon Holt, to be exact. I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that.
Two things, though. JGH, who was my fav over any editor at Stereophile or any other mag, didn't always get everything right. His now infamous review of the Shahinian Diapason comes to mind.
Second, none of Firebaugh's table designs were suspended, so you wonder..
Oh, there is a third... Sota's generally sucked...I knew I couldn't get off here without a snark. Sorry

[ACHiPo]

Hi all, just to introduce my Well Tempered Thorens Hybrid 

Any good reason it shouldn't work ? I'm actually listen to it and to my ears this combo make any cartridge sing, even a cheap shure m55e....

I've been told that that arm shouldn't work very well on suspended tables (but the more i think about it the more I'm dubious).....

No idea, but I'm eager to hear your impressions.  The WTT is most definitely not suspended, but JGH is not to be trifled with, so who knows.  Please post your observations.

[steve f]

I used to own a Thorens TD 125, also a MKII. I bought it used. Mine was fitted with a Rabco arm. Talk about a difficult set up. The tonearm worked well after building a new arm for the Rabco carrier, and replacing the "cat whiskers" type contacts that activated the drive motor. It was my first ever modification, and taught me a lot about patience. Thanks for stirring old memories.

As long as the turntable has an adjustable suspension, the tone arm should work as long as it doesn't exceed the weight limits of the suspension.

That old Thorens is a very good turntable. It will outperform quite a few of the modern units out there. So why not use it with a well tempered arm?  I'll bet it works great.

steve

Edit: the Thorens was replaced by a Oracle Delphi. I kept that one. I would love to try a WT arm with it too. The Thorens was the last table I ever sold. A mistake. Everybody should keep at least six old turntables around.

[steve f]

Paki,

I wanted to add that should you decide to change the mat, try to find one that weighs about the same as the original. You won't have to play with the nylon adjusters that way. On MKII, Thorens added a thread compound that sort of locks them in place.

Thanks for sharing your turntable with us.

steve

[mgsboedmisodpc2]

threadkiller  wrote "Sota's generally sucked" I always thought SOTA was the sleeper Brand of the industry..I always wanted to own one and in fact am always trolling the used market for one that I can have updated to current specs the STAR S that is.

[mgsboedmisodpc2]

I agree with steve f  and used a sorbothane turntable mat with my 166mk2 which had speed stability issues

[threadkiller]

i'd rather have the Thorens!  although I'm still not sure about the WTL arm on there.
besides, if you have a newer WTL, why would you even want a Sota?   Sota's had their day, back in the dark ages, when folks who hadn't found out how great the British tables were mucked about with many so-so brands. I'm always nostalgic about older brands, yet Sota is not one of them.

[steve f]

I'm with thread killer concerning Sota tables. They do lots of stuff well, but there is just something lacking there. I'm an older audiophile and hava kept a few favorite tables. But not that one. Thorens of the day was a better sounding unit, as was Oracle, Linn, Technics, Denon, and Micro Seiki.

[threadkiller]

Not to embarrass him, yet everyone pay attention to Steve's last post.  Wisdom.  It's nice to wax on about vintage pieces, yet some really need to be let go of. Those tables Steve mentioned are all classics in some ways. All my mid century modsters going on about the look of the B & O's.  True, I had their whole catalog of product photos when I was young. But have you ever sat down and really listened to one? Yikes! Still, that Beogram was something out of Lost in Space.

I wonder how many current brands out there will, in the future, be looked at with dismay.