Thorens TD170EV 3-Speed Automatic Belt Drive Turntable with Phono Pre-Amp

I have an older Thorens TD 125, SME arm, the classic...but I wanted a less expensive turntable for my lakehouse so I got one of these. It is a piece of junk. Barely a dozen album sides in it has the same issue described in the other review: severe speed variation. I thought it might be a belt, even though the belt on my 125 is forty years old and still perfect, but it's not. Don't be fooled, this is not one of the old school Thorens tables, it is worthless.

I have owned and do own several turntables -Technics 1200's, Denons, Teac, Phillips (German made), to name a few. I own approximately 1500 records an have collected for nearly 15 years. I purchased the Thorens because I was intrigued by the audiophile mystique and reputation. I full well knew this was not a $5k+ turntable. I just wanted a decent fully automatic to keep from having to jump up at the end of the record to reset the tone arm. However, this was very disappointing. The unit is very light and feels...cheap. It looks cheap. The switches seem very fragile and loosely fitted. Again - not a $5k turntable, but I paid more for this than you would spend for a new Techniques 1200 and those are built like tanks. Here's the worst part.It would not maintain speed. It did that speed up, slow down, speed up, etc. thing. That's what you get from a $50 made-in-China Sony. I returned the unit - which cost me a $69 restocking fee by Amazon. Plus, the aggravation, repacking, and shipping. I went to my next choice - a Pro-ject Debut III (not automatic, but a nice entry level audiophile table) and am extremely satisfied. The quality puts the Thorens to shame and for less money. So, buy a Denon or Pro-ject and use the money you save for some new vinyl.

Excellent customer relationship. Rapid dispatch.Very good product, simple, effective.