Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Thorens is one of the oldest names in entertainment, being founded by Hermann Thorens in 1883 in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, to make musical boxes. A move to phonographs and turntables naturally followed and, by the 1960s, the company was well known for its high-quality designs. In 1965 it introduced the TD150, which featured both three-point suspension and belt drive. Although not the first manufacturer to implement this design, Thorens was certainly one of the most prodigious, with many of its subsequent models employing this formula.

The arrival of CD hit the company hard and for a time it became merely a well known name on OEM decks manufactured in the Far East. Resurrection came in the early 2000s when the 300 and 900 series models, and acrylic TD2015 and TD2035 [HFN Mar '12]appeared. The company is now in German hands under Gunter Kürten, former ELAC CEO. His main aim is to 'bring back the company DNA' and return Thorens to what it does best.