Thorens TD201

The Thorens TD 201 is a manual belt-drive turntable designed for everyday use. Its DC motor drives a 300 mm diameter die-cast aluminium platter, with speed selection via a switch located at the front left of the unit. It features a defeatable RIAA phono preamp, allowing it to be connected directly to a line input on an amplifier, hi-fi system or even wireless speakers lacking a phono input, or alternatively the preamp can be disabled to use a dedicated phono input or an external preamplifier.

The TP 71 tonearm, made from a lightweight aluminium tube, is a straight, statically balanced design with a graduated anti-skating adjustment at the base of the pivot. Its effective length of 223.6 mm and overhang of 18.6 mm define a precise tracking geometry, while the headshell, compatible with the 1/2-inch mounting standard, accepts cartridges weighing between 3.5 and 6.0 g. The turntable has a speed variation of +/-2%, wow and flutter of 0.2%, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 67 dB or better (A-weighted), figures that reflect controlled rotational stability and noise floor for this class of equipment.

The turntable is supplied with an Audio-Technica AT 3600 moving magnet (MM) cartridge, factory-fitted and aligned, with an elliptical diamond stylus. Its output voltage of 2.5 mV and supported load impedance of 47 ohms allow direct compatibility with most phono inputs or phono preamplifiers on the market. This cartridge remains replaceable with any other model compatible with the 1/2-inch mounting standard, leaving room to upgrade the playback system at a later stage.

This model is aimed at straightforward domestic listening use, for a user wanting a manual turntable that is ready to use without complex cartridge adjustments, thanks to the factory setup. The presence of a defeatable built-in phono preamp also makes it a practical choice for easy integration into an existing hi-fi system, whether or not it has a dedicated phono input.