Vinyl Nirvana offers complete packages which include exotic hardwood plinths, a choice of tonearms, and cartridge options from Grado Labs, Ortofon, and Dynavector. So why buy a used Thorens and have it restored to its original glory?ĭave Archambault, CEO, of New Hampshire-based Vinyl Nirvana has been quietly restoring, and rebuilding vintage Acoustic Research, and Thorens turntables full-time since 2011, and with a growing client base that includes Ben Folds, conductors, musicians, and award-winning actors and comedians, he has become the source for affordable restorations and reproductions that are second to none. Thorens is back in the game of manufacturing brand new high-end turntables, but has shown little interest in supporting legacy products that were some of the best belt-driven turntables ever made. Thorens relocated their manufacturing to Germany, Poland, and Switzerland during some rather tumultuous decades for the company as it struggled to combat the birth of digital audio, and only recently in 2018 was restructured with new ownership that is based in Germany. Swiss-made (or German-made depending on the decade) Thorens turntables have been prized by audiophiles for both their sound quality and precision engineering since 1957 with the launch of the TD-124 idler drive turntable, and that list has grown over the years to include the TD-145, TD-150, TD-160/Super, and TD-125 belt-driven models that are prized by collectors and audiophiles.
Or does it make more sense to buy a vintage turntable like a Thorens, Acoustic Research, Lenco, or Garrard from a turntable artisan or restorer and become involved in the process with the same level of passion you might show when restoring a car, having a bespoke suit fitted, or building a road bike for those treks across country. Just because brand ‘x’ made speakers for the past forty years, doesn’t mean that they know anything about engineering a quality turntable. With the majority of new turntable purchases falling below $500, the competition for the remaining 30-35 percent of the market has become the main event on high-end audio’s wrestling card, and with new brands entering the ring almost monthly, it has become confusing for consumers to know what to buy. Listening to music on a turntable requires paying attention to the process of playback, and the music itself something that is seemingly quite difficult for most people these days. Listening to records is the penultimate middle finger to the digital age one where human beings text family and friends in the same room rather than talk to them, and where people flip through music selections on their smartphones with the same level of attention that they display when selecting a brand of cereal at the grocery store. Old is not only new again, but in some cases, far superior. Thomas Edison would consider us unjustifiably spoiled with so many options, but he would also find comfort in the knowledge that there are passionate artisans and engineers in our midst who are raising the bar in the art of vintage turntable restoration.
Tidal, Qobuz, and Spotify have legitimized high-res digital streaming as a format that both the mass market, and audiophiles can enjoy, and the CD has sadly become the future 8-track of music formats even if it can sound dramatically better than any streaming service with so many inexpensive quality CD players and DACs available today. High-end digital playback has come a long way from the days of “perfect sound forever,” when it was nothing more than below average sound reproduction wrapped in a layer of convenience. Vinyl’s unexpected resurgence has been a welcome shot in the arm for the music industry, and one that has even surprised even the most passionate audiophiles who have never given up on turntables but understood that digital was the future.