THORENS TD 158

The Swiss company Thorens released its first gramophone in 1920 and since then has firmly occupied a leading position among the manufacturers of vinyl players, largely determining the development of the entire industry. The TD-158 is a modern entry-level turntable, not cheap (about $300), but very easy to use.

Ingenious simplicity

The black body of the model is made of plastic, a transparent, slightly tinted cover too, but the platter is made of lightweight but durable aluminium, which virtually eliminates vibration during playback.

Switching speeds of 33 and 45 rpm is performed by pressing one button. But for lovers of retro, the model will not work, because it does not work at a speed of 78 rpm, on which records were recorded until the 60s.

Versatility in everything

The tonearm control is fully automatic. That is, there is no need to worry that the hand will tremble and the needle will scratch the record. The tone arm will lower and raise on its own when the record has finished playing. But it can also be controlled manually.

If desired , the complete cartridge is replaced by another, the weight of which fits into the adjustment range of the tonearm counterweight. Also in the player there is a spring anti-skating. But there are no built-in audio systems and a phono stage. So you will need either an external phono stage or an amplifier with a Phono plug. This point should be taken into account.

Thorens TD-158 captivates with an advantageous combination of simplicity and Swiss quality. Yes, it does not have built-in acoustics, a phono stage, wide connectivity, and you need to add the same amount to the price to buy good acoustics if you don’t have one. But there is a replaceable cartridge, a full automatic and a lot of pleasure from a real warm vinyl sound.