Thorens TD 124 DD

RECORD PLAYER

- KEN MICALLEF

In 1957, Switzerland-based Thorens introduced the TD 124 turntable, a record player destined to become a classic. (TD is an initialism for tourne disque, French for turntable.)

A Thoren's brochure from that same year itemized the TD 124’s “11 main elements that result in 41 advantages.” It noted the turntable’s “strongly ribbed, solid chassis, crafted in cast aluminum,” and its two-part platter including a “flywheel [subplatter], crafted in stabilized cast iron, [which] possesses excellent characteristics for the magnetic shielding of the drive system, as well as great inertia.” Continuing, it lauded the TD 124’s “main bearing, fitted with a 14mm spindle made of hardened, mirror-polished steel,” its braking system, leveling dials, surface-mounted spirit level, and four “mushroom-shaped, rubber dampers [that] guarantee smooth suspension in a built-in frame as well as decoupling from the base.”1

Between 1957 and 1967, Thorens manufactured more than 90,0002 TD 124s. In 1961, the TD 124 sold for $99.95, just under $900 in today’s dollars.

Even today, alongside the Garrard 301, the Thorens TD 124 remains highly desirable—one of the most sought-after vintage turntables in hi-fi.3 For its fans, it’s the gold standard of vinyl-spinning machines, overbuilt to meet the demands of radio stations, recording studios, and audiophiles.

That last group includes this writer, Stereophile