I am a proud owner of a THORENS 318 MK 111 turntable which i bought in 1993 in New York City .At presant this unit is still going strong with no problems .It is SOLID and well built .
I also owned a SANSUI SR636 turntable and i love them both. Each has a solid body ( no flimzy stuff) and give super sound .(Money Well Spent).
McIntosh C36 preamp and McIntosh Mc2105 Amp
No matter what , i will always be a VINYL fan.

Just bought it for two weeks I play it with Sonic Frontier SFP-1 Signature( phono stage), when I initially connected it directly to preamp using MC hi output cartrige( Ortofon MC Turbo) it sound so thin and somewhat lean in high frequencies details in background are hard to tell whether they were existing, bass in quite good shape but, again, a bit too shallow, then I switched to use it with Sonic Frontier SFP-1sig with Ortofon MC10 Supreme MC low output, well O.K. this time things get better treble back in to stage and bass bacome smoother and deeper with something can be called deep bass but overall I was not quite satisfied with its performance. I'm waitting for all the cables to burn in( I'm using Kimber KCAG and it takes up to 100 hours to burn in) to critically listen to it again. I paid about 1,200 us$( price in Thailand include tax) The turn itself, I think, is not for using with high end system it should work better in moderate hifi system because I have to play it with phono stage to get things in place but, still, it did not strike for great sound even I used Sonic signature Phono stage. I think for turntable this price it should sound atleast o.k. by itself since I have heard some turntables that sound superbly even playing with MM cartridge without phono stage. But for Mid- Fi level that can stand a bit coloration its sound should pull things off. Three stars.

I own a older version of the Thorens TD-318... the TD-318 Mk II. Due to tone arm changes the sound I get from mine will be different from current production - but there is one standout feature that has me writing this brief post.
I have owned this turntable for over 10 years, and in that period I have not had even the slighest bit of trouble! I clean the unsealed aluminum platter with Barkeepers Friend brand cleaner every 6 months to keep that new shine to the platter and wash the belt from time to time in soap and water - that's it. Heck there is a spare belt in the box that I have yet to need!

Currently my main system has a Sonographe SG-3 (a SOTA Comet built for cj using a 3 point suspension) that is more dynamic and lively with it's Profile arm - but in another 10 years I bet the Thorens will be better for the wear than the otherwise fine SOTA product!

If you are looking for a turntable to keep for many years and even pass down to the next generation - Thorens is a brand to seriously consider as a investment. For that reason alone I give it points - and only that low given the loftier competition it is up against at the current price point.