Thorens TD 1600 — Pure Manual, Pure Performance
The TD 1600 is the fully manual sibling of the TD 1601 — identical in construction, suspension, drive, and tonearm, but without the motorized lift and auto shut-off. For the purist who controls every moment of playback themselves, the TD 1600 delivers every bit of the 1601's exceptional sound at a lower price point.
Suspension The subchassis sits on three conical springs mounted from the bottom rather than hung from the top plate. A tensioned steel thread connects the subchassis to a steel pin on the base, preventing lateral stagger and allowing only vertical movement — keeping the suspension tight, controlled, and genuinely effective at isolating the stylus from external vibration.
The TP 160 Tonearm Developed by designer Helmut Thiele, the TP 160 features an ultra-precise knife-edge bearing in a J-shaped 9" tube with an SME headshell connection, taking its inspiration from classic studio tonearms. The horizontal bearing blade is additionally stabilized by magnets for the most precise tracking. VTA and azimuth are both adjustable, and the split counterweight accommodates a wide range of cartridges.
Drive and Power The two-part precision-machined aluminum platter is driven by a polished, internally running belt. The external TPN 1600 linear power supply, with a toroidal transformer, feeds the synchronous motor with 2x 16V for optimum rotational consistency. The two-piece platter design is notable: each part rings audibly on its own, but assembled together the result is complete silence — a clever acoustic engineering solution that pays real dividends in low noise-floor performance.
Connectivity Balanced XLR outputs ensure a low-interference connection to the phono preamplifier — particularly valuable given how susceptible the phono signal is to electrical interference. True balanced operation requires an MC cartridge. Standard RCA outputs are included as well.
TD 1600 vs. TD 1601 The TD 1600 and TD 1601 are essentially the same turntable. The TD 1600 uses a classic manual lever for tonearm cueing; the TD 1601 adds a motorized lift and automatic platter shut-off at the end of the record.
No cartridge included. Acrylic dust cover and external power supply included.
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