Rescued a Thorens TD-124... now what?

Just walked in the door with TD-124 in a roll-top case. Hasn't been used at least 40 years! Covered in dust but it looks to be in excellent shape, we'll see once I clean it up. I can't believe it's sitting in my house! I've been using a Thorens TD-160 Super which I absolutely love. I'm very excited about the potential this thing has, and I want to do it right, but it's going to take a long time, as funds become available.

First of all, could someone tell me what tonearm this is? I think it's a Rek-o-kut, but I don't see this model in any pictures. It came with a Pickering V15 AT2 cartridge, which of course does not do the table justice.

I plan on using my Grace f9 Ruby. My only other exposure to a TD-124 was one that had a SME 3009, which I know is period correct, but I wasn't a fan of its ergonomics.

I would like to either build or purchase a big heavy plinth for it, and maybe have it restored. Once I get it out of the case in the next few days I'll post pics of what's underneath.

Congratulations! They can sound special.

The arm looks like an Empire, just like the ones that came with my TD-124. It was a popular choice back in the day. It's a good arm, if a bit high in effective mass.

The tambour door on my 124's base didn't work any more, so I had a woodworker friend build a nice, dense, veneered plywood plinth. He did a beautiful job. My project for the rest of this month is to replace the belt and idler wheel as needed, bring it up to speed, install one of the two arms, mount up a cartridge, and play some records so I can hear for myself what all the fuss is about regarding the TD-124. Longer term -- which means when my upgrade budget recovers from being hijacked to pay for home repairs -- I want to mount a good modern tonearm on it.

Yup, that's an Empire arm. I'd consider making a custom plinth and mounting that as a second arm for mono duty.

So do you think the Empire would work well with my Grace F9 Ruby?

The tonearm is an Empire model 980, produced circa 1961-1969. The cylinder at the rear of the tonearm is the "DynaLift' which raises the tonearm when it reaches the runout groove by means of a magnet.

monkboughtlunch said:

The tonearm is an Empire model 980, produced circa 1961-1969. The cylinder at the rear of the tonearm is the "DynaLift' which raises the tonearm when it reaches the runout groove by means of a magnet.

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That's cool! Can't wait to see that work. I'm trying to find the effective mass of the Empire arm. Vinyl engine does not list it.

Gridslayer said:

That's cool! Can't wait to see that work. I'm trying to find the effective mass of the Empire arm. Vinyl engine does not list it.

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The mass figure is somewhat elusive but it's best mated with a low compliance cartridge like the Denon DL-103.

I forgot to add - one potential wrinkle is that the magnetic platter on the MK1 124s (like yours) is reputed to attract and possibly damage some moving coil carts. You may want to check with other 124 MK1 owners on best practices to avoid the issue. One alternative is to use a MM cart instead of a MC.

The Grace is MM


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monkboughtlunch said:

I forgot to add - one potential wrinkle is that the magnetic platter on the MK1 124s (like yours) is reputed to attract and possibly damage some moving coil carts. You may want to check with other 124 MK1 owners on best practices to avoid the issue. One alternative is to use a MM cart instead of a MC.

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Hi there, I do have a 124 MK1 and using a MC cart with no issue by placing a 3mm cork mat on top of the rubber mat. However, you will need to adjust the VTA of your tonearm.

I ran an AT33PTG/II on one with no issue.

I have been reading your thread about the TD-124, and congratulations.

The TD 124 is a turntable with a well deserved reputation.

After rebuilding two of them, I would like to offer my assistance if needed, (if you are rebuilding yourself.) There are a lot of people offering premium parts and services, such as Schopper, and you can spend a lot of money rebuilding it, but you can still do a good job if you want to DIY.

If you want more information, please feel free to contact me, I will be glad to offer advice from my experience.


Gene

Dr Tinear said:

The arm looks like an Empire, just like the ones that came with my TD-124. It was a popular choice back in the day. It's a good arm, if a bit high in effective mass.

The tambour door on my 124's base didn't work any more, so I had a woodworker friend build a nice, dense, veneered plywood plinth. He did a beautiful job. My project for the rest of this month is to replace the belt and idler wheel as needed, bring it up to speed, install one of the two arms, mount up a cartridge, and play some records so I can hear for myself what all the fuss is about regarding the TD-124. Longer term -- which means when my upgrade budget recovers from being hijacked to pay for home repairs -- I want to mount a good modern tonearm on it.

Click to expand...

I run one of two different MC cartridges on my '60 or so iron platter TD124 MKI. One being a new Ortofon GM Classic GM E MKII, the other a vintage bakelite Ortofon SPU headshell with a new Royal Gold N SPU in it. My arm is an Ortofon RMG212. I had heard about issues with some MC carts with the original platters, but I can at least confirm the turntable plays nicely with SPU MCs even with the iron platter.

I did the following on my 124: Had the motor rebuilt, replaced the motor mount studs with the longer MKII versions so I could run the MKII isolation grommets top and bottom for less rumble, new silicone stand off mushrooms, new mirror, new bubble level, and new repro MKI platter mat. I went through it and cleaned and lubed it, adjusted the clutch, and carefully got most of the slight bend out of my aluminum sub platter. I'm still on the (probably) original belt, though I plan to replace it at some point as it sometimes pops off. My original idler wheel is in good shape, though some suggest upgrading to a custom O ring type idler wheel you can find on ebay. I also picked up some proper oil for the main bearing well which was bone dry when I got mine. Yours is probably starting off in way better shape than mine so you probably won't need as much!

The empire arm is lovely- be very careful with the cartridge mounting plate- they are getting very fragile and bent from years screwed in too tight. Unobtanium apart from 3D printed copies.

The arm is superb and don't let people tell you it's too high mass. It isn't and will be a great combo with the right cartridge.

Got the table out from the case. Gave it a quick wipe down. Looks like it's in great shape! No scratches to speak of. Now, to get the platter off, do I just unscrew the three screws in the middle? any problem with taking the platter off?

restorer-john said:

The empire arm is lovely- be very careful with the cartridge mounting plate- they are getting very fragile and bent from years screwed in too tight. Unobtanium apart from 3D printed copies.

The arm is superb and don't let people tell you it's too high mass. It isn't and will be a great combo with the right cartridge.

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So since the Empire is high mass and the Grace F9E Ruby cartridge is low compliance (12 x 10-6cm/Dyne) they should match up well, no?

What is the serial number of this fine specimen?

Omegaman said:

What is the serial number of this fine specimen?

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Serial number is 39238

Gridslayer said:

Got the table out from the case. Gave it a quick wipe down. Looks like it's in great shape! No scratches to speak of. Now, to get the platter off, do I just unscrew the three screws in the middle? any problem with taking the platter off?

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Just lift it straight up. There will be resistance from suction in the bearing. You don't want to unscrew the three screws as you'll need to center the platter on the spindle when you put it back. Though there are other ways, that should be done with a dial indicator.