Customer Reviews

Thorens TD170 3-Speed Automatic Belt Drive Turntable (Black)

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

The turntable was at first completely "off"--brand new recordings sounded wobbly and out of sync. I was able to get this repaired, though it's never been totally right. Then, as others here have pointed out, the motor slowed so much that now records play about a minor 3rd lower than they should. And any older recording which weighs more than the lightest of lightweight LPs often doesn't play at all. A complete rip-off. I will never buy Thorens again.

My experience is pretty much the same as Croquetman's. Let me add that when I contacted Thorens US representative,he made no effort to stand behind product and instead referred me to a parts supplier. Which did not solve problem. Buying this turntable turned into an expensive mistake for a poor performing piece of equipment that didn't last with only minimal use. Ultimately, I decided to throw turntable out and will never purchase another Thorens product.

This turntable is extremely unreliable and a waste of money. I wanted to get a turntable that played 78s as well as 33s, and thought that this would be a nice choice. I had previously owned a Garard 42M for 30 years, but it only played 33s and occasionally had wow, so I thought this would last for another generation.
About a year after I bought it, the player stopped working, and after many attempts to get it going over several days, it began to play at a speed that was so slow that the sound was horribly distorted. Now it does not play at all. It is not the belt, but to repair it now would cost more than it is worth, and who knows how long it would work after the repair? I think I am going to go back to my Garard or try another old turntable.

I bought the product with the supplied cartridge as my first foray into vinyl after a 25 year gap. Out of the box it had problems. The sound was off on most of the records I owned. As it came 'set up for play' and I had no alignment tools, I thought the problem was with my old used records. After a year of off/on listening, I replaced the cartridge and discovered the supplied cartridge had been installed wrong. The tracking, anti-skate, azimuth, and general alignment were off, way off. Set up properly, the sound was really good BUT, it has an audible vibration. I took the platter off, breaking the clamp that holds it in place, and found the stylus guard for the old stylus rattling around under the platter. I reassembled the table and went to Thorens for a replacement clamp (a $.25 cent part). Nope, that would be customer service. Thorens referred me to the seller who referred me to several specialist parts shops who referred me to local hardware stores who do not have the clamp...In short, crappy customer service. If I had to do it again I would buy a Project 1.3 for the same price.

Please let me be clear. Set up properly the turntable sounds better than I would expect for the money. My problem is with Thorens...lousy customer care.