Thorens TD 1500 — Suspended Subchassis, Complete Package
The TD 1500 is a fully manual, belt-drive suspended subchassis turntable that arrives with tonearm and cartridge factory-installed and aligned — a complete, ready-to-play analog front end at an honest price. Reviewers at Analog Planet called it a "no-holds success" and praised its "stupendous dynamic range, rich tone, and excellent soundstage abilities." At $2,999 including arm and cartridge, it competes convincingly against tables costing significantly more.
Suspension Three conical springs decouple the subchassis — carrying the platter and tonearm — from the motor and outer frame. Unlike older designs, these springs can be adjusted from above through corresponding holes in the platter, making setup and leveling considerably easier. The DC motor's speed is electronically monitored by an incremental encoder, with deviations automatically corrected — delivering excellent wow and flutter performance despite the compliance of the suspension.
The TP 150 Tonearm The TP 150 has an effective mass of 14 grams, is adjustable in height and azimuth, and is equipped with a standard SME connector for easy headshell swapping and cartridge changes. Anti-skating is set via a sliding weight on a nylon thread guided over a ruby bearing. It shares its design DNA with the TP 124 found on the flagship TD 124 DD — meaningful pedigree at this price point.
Cartridge Included A pre-adjusted Ortofon 2M Bronze with naked Fine Line diamond stylus is included as standard — a genuinely high-quality cartridge that most tables in this category can't match out of the box. Cart, tracking force, and overhang are all set at the factory, so setup requires nothing more than mounting the headshell and dialing in the counterweight.
Connectivity As a unique feature in its class, the TD 1500 offers XLR outputs in addition to the standard RCA jacks, enabling true balanced operation with a suitable MC cartridge. Very few turntables at this price point offer this.
Construction The plinth is MDF topped with aluminum, the platter is die-cast aluminum, and the armboard is a multiplex layer with an acrylic top plate. The floating subchassis board is made from Alucobond — a double-layer aluminum material with POM in the middle for exceptional resonance damping. Fully manual operation — no auto-lift or auto-shutoff.
Downloads:
Datasheet
User Guide
