Can't go wrong

I just helped a friend select a turntable, and after much searching, we finally found a Thorens TD 170. In this day of CD and DVD, finding vinyl is difficult, but for those of us with large collections, a quality turntable is a must.

My friend needed a replacement for his old Denon turntable which finally gave up the ghost. Since we bought our turntables at the same time (1985) and my Thorens (TD 166 MKII) is still like new, he decided to find one like mine. Of course, the 166 has been long-gone from the Thorens line-up, and this is the closest equivalent.

The TD 170 is much sleeker than my 166, with a lower dust cover that combined with the black wood base makes the turntable look much more modern (the TD 166 MKII has a mahogany base and the dust cover is roughly 1/2" higher). Finally, the turntable differs from my 18-year-old model in that it is automatic in operation, whereas my old model is completely manual. Automatic means that it will deposite the needle gently on your record, and lift it at the end.

Its not the minor updates that matter, however, but rather what has stayed the same. The TD 170 is a belt-drive turntable with effective isolation and a very heavy metal platter. It also has a high-quality tonearm that is easy to balance and tracks well. That tonearm, incidentally, is nearly identical to the one on my TD 166 save the automatic functions. I have actually dropped heavy items on the floor nearbye while records were playing and not once as my TD 166 skipped, and after seeing the construction of the TD 170, I have no reason to expect it would be any less stable.

In conclusion, this is a wonderful combination of old-fashioned quality and excellent performance, at a reasonable price (I believe my friend payed about $450 for his TD 170). If the continued excellent performance of my TD 166 is any indication (heavy use for almost 18 years with no problems whatsoever), then the TD 170 should last longer than any other component in my friend's system.

My only dissappointment is that I actually prefer the manual simplicity of the TD 166, and that mahogany base is much richer-looking, in an old-fashioned sort of way, than the black base of the new one. With TD 160-series turntables selling for about $200 on eBay, that would be my recommendation today, but if you want new, the TD 170 is hard to beat. As for me, I'll be keeping my old TD166 until it stops working, which I imagine will be longer after I do.