Thorens 140th Anniversary TD 124 DD – Quick Look

All Image Credit: Thorens

The legendary Thorens TD 124 has been around since its initial release in 1957. It was resurrected in 2020 as the TD 124 DD and re-released with a newly developed tonearm, the TP 124. This limited edition of 140 units, celebrating Thorens 140th Anniversary, includes many years of ongoing research and development to further enhance the world class performance of this pairing with a number of upgrades, including a re-worked TP 124 arm and a limited edition SPU 124 MC cartridge.

The newly designed two-layer platter is composed of the original aluminum platter plus a 5mm (0.197″) thick layer of solid copper. The resulting increased mass and interaction between the two different materials is claimed to cancel out each other’s resonances. No changes were required to support this additional platter mass as the original platter bearing and the “high precision” DC direct drive motor were already generously “over engineered”.

The only change to the original TP 124 torsion-resistant tonearm is the upgraded high-purity silver wire between the cartridge and outputs, which should interface well with the special version of the brand’s SPU 124 cartridge, produced by Ortofon, with coils made of pure silver and mounted in a Bakelite housing that continues the use an SME headshell coupling.

This limited-edition world-class MC cartridge is only available with the TD 124 DD 140th Anniversary package.

Completing the package, the TD 124 DD 140th Anniversary model sports a revised plinth and armboard finish in a real wood veneer that are both treated to a high-gloss lacquered and hand-polished finish.