Thorens
A brand that pours precision mechanical engineering into a fundamentally outdated audio format. Since analog record reproduction underperforms standard digital audio in all performance measurements, it receives extremely low evaluation from a scientific fidelity perspective. The design philosophy is irrational in pursuing high performance, and cost-performance is catastrophic. These products are for users seeking nostalgia and mechanical hobby interests rather than accurate acoustic reproduction.
Overview
Thorens is one of the world’s most historic audio brands, established in Switzerland in 1883. Starting with music box manufacturing, it carved an indelible name in record player history with the “TD 124” in 1957 and subsequent “TD 150” and “TD 160” series that adopted floating suspension (spring-suspended main mechanism). Rebuilt in 2018 under German management, it develops products that fuse traditional precision mechanical engineering with modern improvements.
Scientific Validity
\[\Large \text{0.4}\]Thorens record players are based on the principle of physically tracing grooves with a needle, dating back to the 19th century. This reproduction method has fundamental limitations from the absolute perspective of scientific fidelity. Noise from record material and dust, and physical distortion when the needle traces grooves are inherently unavoidable. As a result, even under optimal conditions, S/N ratio remains around -70dB to -80dB, and wow and flutter (rotation irregularity) cannot be eliminated. This is incomparable to the performance easily achieved by even inexpensive digital audio equipment: S/N ratio exceeding -110dB and zero wow and flutter. In terms of fidelity to master sources, scientific validity is severely limited from the moment analog media is chosen.
Technology Level
\[\Large \text{0.3}\]Thorens’ technology specializes in precision mechanical engineering for record players. High craftsmanship is evident in platter machining precision and suspension design, but this effort is directed toward fundamentally outdated and low-performance technology. From the absolute perspective of “fidelity to master sources,” the technology of tracing plastic grooves with a needle must be considered primitive compared to modern digital signal processing technology. Just as even the most elaborately crafted modern carriage cannot match the basic performance of an inexpensive automobile, this applies here. While acknowledging the high level of mechanical engineering invested, the foundation upon which this technology stands does not meet modern high-fidelity standards at all, resulting in a low technology level evaluation.
Cost-Performance
\[\Large \text{0.1}\]Based on the sole evaluation criterion of “fidelity to master sources,” Thorens products’ cost-performance is catastrophic. The company’s core model “Thorens TD 1500” has a retail price of approximately USD 2,000, yet its performance in S/N ratio and distortion rates, while excellent for analog players, falls far short of much cheaper digital equipment in absolute fidelity.
Specifically, the DAC “Topping D10s” with overwhelming performance exceeding 115dB S/N ratio and distortion rates below 0.0002% is available for just USD 73. Based on the fact that a product with performance several orders of magnitude inferior costs approximately 27 times more, the calculation becomes CP = USD 73 ÷ USD 2,000 ≈ 0.037. Following this definition, the score is evaluated as 0.1. Thorens’ value lies in hobbyist appeal and nostalgia beyond performance, and it should not be measured by pure reproduction fidelity cost efficiency.
Reliability & Support
\[\Large \text{0.7}\]Thorens products are robustly built as precision machinery, with many vintage models known to endure years of use. The new company Thorens GmbH established in Germany in 2018 presents warranty and service guidelines on its official website, providing support through official distributors in various countries. Being mechanical products, they require different maintenance than digital equipment, but the brand stability and mature user community developed over its long history allow for a certain level of reliability and support systems. Since this item is not directly related to acoustic performance, we evaluated the product construction and corporate structure.
Rationality of Design Philosophy
\[\Large \text{0.2}\]In light of the objective of “maximizing fidelity to master sources,” Thorens’ design philosophy is fundamentally irrational. The choice to deliberately invest resources in a reproduction format (analog records) that inherently suffers from serious constraints of noise, distortion, and mechanical instability is completely irrational from a performance pursuit perspective.
The suspension mechanisms developed by Thorens are ingenious solutions to vibration problems “self-inflicted” by record playback. However, this is like designing a very high-performance drainage pump for a deliberately punctured boat—putting the cart before the horse. A truly rational design philosophy would first select a performance-superior digital format. Therefore, this design philosophy receives extremely low evaluation from a scientific and rational standpoint.
Advice
In conclusion, Thorens is not a high-fidelity (high-fidelity reproduction) product. This is a luxury item rooted in nostalgia and mechanical hobby interests. If you want to hear sounds recorded in master sources as accurately as possible, it should not be considered an option. A combination of a DAC costing tens of thousands of yen with a PC or streamer overwhelmingly surpasses Thorens players in all measurement performance by orders of magnitude.
Considering purchasing Thorens products is limited to cases where you find value in the ritualistic enjoyment of manipulating physical media called records or attachment to sophisticated machinery itself, and can tolerate markedly low acoustic performance and high costs as compensation for that value.
(2025.07.06)