Does the Thorens TD 1500 merely pay homage to one of its classic decks or is there something more here?

Does familiarity truly breed contempt? Having invested a sizeable amount of money over the past decade in three restored Thorens turntables from Vinyl Nirvana, there was both intense interest and some skepticism on my part in regard to the new Thorens TD 1500 Turntable.

Swiss-made (or German-made depending on the decade) Thorens turntables have been prized by audiophiles for both their sound quality and precision engineering since 1957 with the launch of the TD-124 idler drive turntable, and that list has grown over the years to include the TD-145, TD-150, TD-160/Super, and TD-125 belt-driven models.

Thorens relocated their manufacturing to Germany, Poland, and Switzerland during some rather tumultuous decades for the company as it struggled to combat the birth of digital audio, and only recently in 2018 was restructured with new ownership that is based in Germany.

Thorens is back in the game of manufacturing brand new high-end turntables but has shown little interest in supporting legacy products that were some of the best belt-driven turntables ever made.

So why buy a used Thorens and have It restored to its original glory?

Why not buy something new? 

Thorens is making a strong case for itself with new models like the TD 1500, TD 1600/1601 and TD 124 DD.

This article originally appeared at ecoustics.com and an intro has been published here with permission.

Read the full article: https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/thorens-td-1500-turntable/