Thorens TD204 Turntable

The Thorens TD 204 is an audiophile turntable for those entering the field for the first time. Hence it has great expansion potential. Two beautiful and classy finishes are available, High gloss black and high gloss walnut. The high build quality guarantees a long life. Additionally, the Thorens TD 204 turntable comes with the newly developed TP120 tonearm.

This arm is a real 9” J-shaped aluminium unit with a high-quality bearing. As a result, arm friction is at a very low level and the mass is only 15 grams. Another good feature for beginners is the built-in phono preamp. This is switchable and the turntable can be used with any line level input.

Die-cast platter and belt drive

The heavy diecast platter, of the Thorens TD 204, is driven by a belt. Belt drives have the advantage of isolating vibration. This isolates the plater from any interference from the motor. Noise from the motor is reduced for a cleaner sound. There is also no cogging. This can be caused by minute speed variations common with direct-drive motors.

Detachable SME headshell

The Thorens TD 204 comes fitted with a quality AT95E cartridge from Audio Technica. However, any other type of cartridge can be fitted. Additionally, the anti-skating device is a spring. Anti-skate is needed as the arm tends to pull toward the centre of the record. This can increase groove wear on the inner side. It can also increase distortion, especially close to the centre of the record.

Connectivity and cartridge types

The Thorens TD 204 Turntable also has a built-in phono preamp for moving magnet cartridges. This can be switched out if your amplifier has a built-in phono stage. There are two types of magnetic cartridges. Moving magnet and moving coil. Moving magnets are the most common they have a relatively high output at around 5mV and a reasonably consistent output impedance.

They work by having a tiny magnet mounted to the end of the cantilever. This is mounted inside a pair of coils. The movement of the magnet generates the audio signal. However, the mass of the magnet can reduce tracking efficiency.

The other type of cartridge is the moving coil type. These have coils mounted onto the cantilever, instead of a magnet. As a result, the mass is lower and the high-frequency tracking is improved. However, the output is much lower and can be less than 1mV.

As a result, the preamp needs to be able to handle the low output. The output impedance can also vary between manufacturers. Hence high-end phono preamps will have multiple gain and impedance settings for MC cartridges.

Who are Thorens?

Thorens have been connected with music reproduction since 1883. They began in Switzerland by making music boxes and soon moved into gramophone manufacture. They have always been innovators and by 1928 had introduced the first electric motor for gramophones. Before that, they had a spring-driven motor. They then moved into radio receivers and radiograms. For the 140th anniversary, special edition products are now available

Special Features

- Smooth running belt drive
- Thorens TP 120 9” tonearm with J shape
- Detachable headshell with SME connector
- Switchable MM phono preamplifier
- Die-cast aluminum platter
- Pre-installed Audio Technics AT95E cartridge