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Thorens 160 Mk 1
Having
stood the test of time, the Thorens TD 160 is yet another Thorens
success story. Even today this deck is a popular choice, being
a much discussed and 'tweaked' turntable. In fact the web
site; 'Analog Dept' seems pretty well dedicated to it (See links for information).
You
could be forgiven for concluding that TD160 is in fact another
version of the TD 150, as it works in the very same way, so much so,
I thought it would be interesting to make the comparison between
them. Though there are differences between them, these
differences are more to do with the type of components used (that do
the same job) and the way it's put together, rather than the way it
works. Gone is the heavy gauge steel top section and the 'T'
section
sub chassis of the 150,
to be replaced by light gauge, pressed steel panels, making it a
lightweight version of the 150.
 Where
the chassis of the 150 is secured to the plinth with small screws
that were countersunk into the metal top plate and neatly concealed
by the aluminium cover trim, the 160 chassis is just screwed down at
the four corners, directly through the top plate (including cover
trim) into the four wooden corner blocks that brace the corners of
the plinth. Because  these
fixing screws are fed through holes in the top plate, the screw
heads are clearly visible and need to be disguised with aid of
plastic caps which fit over the heads. The corner blocks are recessed
below the top plate to a distance equal the size of plastic spacers
that sit between them.
 As
with the 150, the chassis of the 160 has the two tier arrangement
where the top section is fixed in position into the plinth. All
the controls, motor and speed change mechanisms are fixed to this
section, while the bearing, platter and tone arm are fixed onto the
suspended section below (the floating chassis). The weight of
the floating chassis rests on three coil springs, these are held in
position by three threaded fixed pins that hang from the underside of
the top section, so that when the platter and arm are in place, the
two sections are automatically separated by the weight. Each
spring is isolated top and bottom by rubber washers which ensure that
there is no metal to metal contact between the two plates were
vibrations could otherwise be transmitted.
Rather
than using a conventional arm board, the lower sprung pressed steel
section extends to the right hand side of the turntable to where the
arm is located. In relation to this, the top section is cut out
so that the cables and arm base can be fed through. Above this cut-out
is the elevated plastic section (with a matching cut-out) on which
the arm is fixed. Thought this  elevated
section stands directly above the top plate, it's not actually fixed
or in any way in contact with it. It is connected to the
suspended floating chassis below via connecting pins, ensuring that
the arm and platter are isolated from the workings of the deck such
as speed controls, and motor.
The
belt drive system is driven by a 40mm 16 pole ac motor, which has
the plastic carrier that is stepped to accommodate the two speed 33
and 45 positions which is fitted onto the motor spindle. The belt is
lifted or lowered to these positions by the 'claw' that the belt
travels through and is operated by the speed control knob.
The
platter is the now well know Thorens two sections arrangement, where
the smaller inner section that carries the drive belt, has on its top
outer edge, a small stepped recess  machined
into it; this allows the larger outer section (with its
corresponding recess to its inner underside) to fit on to it.
The weight of the outer steel platter is sufficient to prevent it
from slipping while the inner  section
is driven, which demonstrates the tight tolerances in the machining
process. On it's underside the inner section is the spindle
that fits into the sleeve bearing, the tip of which has a honed
tip. As for the spindle on the 150, the tip has a captive
bearing on which
it rests and rotates.
 The
Perspex cover is hinged by means of reinforced plastic lugs, which
are cut out to fit onto steel pins located on either side of the
plinth. The shape of the cut-out is such that, the cover can be (with
a little bit of maneuvering) easily removed and refitted but once in
place, the cover can be safely raised and lowered. The front edge of
the cover rests on an aluminium strip recessed in the front panel of
the plinth.
Though
I did not initially like this deck, I have to admit that I have now
taken to it, (see my set-up)
though not as heavily built as the 150, it still has everything
going for it. It has a good motor, belt drive system and a well
machined and balanced heavy platter. Because it uses all the
tried and tested attributes of its predecessor, it had a good head
start. Thinking about it, in the days when turntables were all
the go, it must have been a very competitive market, where Thorens
felt that rather than lead, they had to follow the crowd, using
lighter materials and adopting more 'assembly line' methods to
survive. However, I feel that this was the beginning of the end
for them, for as the record shows, this trend continued with models
further along the line which I feel played a big part in their
demise. Perhaps had they stuck to their guns and maintained
their standards, they could well have survived to this day, in the
specialist field, as indeed they are beginning to do now.
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