The first time that I ever heard stereo was when I was 5 years old and my dad purchased a RCA portable stereo phonograph with its own amplification and speakers, of which one speaker was detachable. I thought that nothing could surpass this system and that stereo was great!!! Well, stereo is great and I've travelled some distance from that first turntable. After living with a coupole BSR changers, a Radio Shack single play manual, and a Yamaha semi-automatic turntable, I decided to by a B & O turntable--two of my friends have them and they are quite fine for a turntable under 500 bucks. The only B & O dealer is in my area is in Youngstown, Ohio so I went there to buy a B & O turntable. I almost did buy one, but I was seduced by (at that time) a 17 year old used Thorens turntable (her name was Helga and she had a great arm). The TD 145 MkII had been dumped by a callous brute who (must of been middle-aged crazy) wanted a new snazzy turntable. The callous brute bought a new B & O and I left the shop with his old Thorens. The TD 145 MkII is a terrific turntable. It is belt driven, has a fantastic arm, and is semi-automatic (it lifts the arm and shuts itself off it's finished playing). My cartridge is a modest Ortofon X1 MC. For those of us pinching our pennies (I'm a professor not a physician!) Thorens makes a decent turntable that one can live with and enjoy immensely. Thorens also has a model that can play one's 78's (the TD 145 MkII has two speeds, 33 and 45). Sure, I'd like a Linn or an Oracle (nice turntable from Quebec), but for a guy with champagne tastes on a rootbeer budget, Thorens tastes pretty good to me. For a good, affordable turntable (anywhere from 300 to 500 bucks or thereabouts) try Thorens. Cheers!

High quality construction, precise.

out of production?

I got mine 2nd hand. it is a 1975 model so it may be a mark one. Light years beyond the rickety newer Gemini I was using. An excellent turntable that can be had used for around and about $100.

Similar Products Used:

sansui, technics, onkyo, gemini