A classic Thorens TD125 MKII, came across our radar a few years ago. It was made in West Germany under Swiss license. My wife and myself took this on as a project, it was a basic refinish and "facelift". When we got a hold of this table it’s original color was a drab, dull gray and the wood base that made up part of the plinth needed some TLC.
We refinished the plinth and sent the chassis platter to Assured Body Shop, here in N.E Calgary for a makeover, the finished product was a shiny Honda blue. It stood out so brightly compared to the original drab top panel. With the new paint and the refinished base it was coming together beautifully.
For a final touch we had a plastic fabrication company here in Calgary craft us a brand new custom made acrylic dust cover! To put on the finishing touches, we added a Ortofon 2M blue moving magnet cartridge for an optimal user experience.
This table was sold to a gentleman that had a similar turntable that had some problems. When he saw the Thorens TD125, he fell in love immediately and purchased it for his collection in 2019.
Not too shabby, if I don’t say so myself! It's always fantastic to see a audiophiles eyes light up when they find something that is calling to them. We always have fun working with local companies and adding a unique flare to our projects when we can!
History of Thorens
In 1883 Thorens was established by Hermann Thorens in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland as a family business to manufacture music boxes.
By 1903 Thorens had created their first Edison-type phonograph.
The Thorens company morphed into manufacturing horn-gramophones, cigarette lighters, and harmonicas over a span of time in the earlier years of their establishment.
In 1928, Thorens created their first electric motor-drive record player, and went on to produce a range of audio equipment that we still know and love today. A year later they created a pickup (phono cartridge) based on the magnet principle.
In the 1930s, the product portfolio was expanded to include radio receivers and music cabinets, even with built-in record players with the German company Strassfurt-Imperial.
In the early 50’s they launched the CD 43 record changer, which reached across the seas to the US audio market.
The Thorens TD-124 was brought to market in 1957 and was a great success, this model was produced in two versions until 1968 and is still known in our world today. Thorens had brought out a table that was great for radio broadcasters, as well as the home audio enthusiast.
In the following years, several more simple models (TD 134, TD 135, TD 184) were extracted from the TD 124. In 1962, an extremely complex record changer with fully automatic control of the BTD-12S tonearm, the TDW 224, was offered in small numbers.
Thorens has made quite the name for themselves in the hi-fi community, and among the audio enthusiasts around the world over the years. To think a small family business was created to go on and impact the world's way of listening to and enjoying music is quite a quality thing.
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