Vintage HI Fi. Anyone else in to it?

[Grant Fondo]

Up for auction in Nottingham Sat 11/2/23.
"A German TD125 Mk II record player, fitted with SME 3009 tone arm with original shell cartridge holder".
Thorens, of course. Est £380 - £500. Plus at least 25% commission, if anyone's tempted.
Probably realistic estimate, might make top end but not much over that?
https://www.arthurjohnson.co.uk/cat...saturday-auctions-11th-february-2023-lot-328/

Ooh, thats nice. Built like a battleship no doubt, i do like the sound of those old Thorens. For that cash doubt if anything current beats it for sound. A Rega P2 with a cheapo cartridge is 500 quid now.

 

[Poacher]

Also in auction in Nottingham this Sat, "AR Linn Basik LVK turntable with Goldring Epic II stylus".
Should read LV X. AR = Accoustic Research plinth? Same auctioneer, different sale room, alongside power tools etc.!
https://www.arthurjohnson.co.uk/cat...aturday-auctions-11th-february-2023-lot-2330/

Edit: Hammer price £360 - nearly as much as the Thorens & SME 3009!

 

[Grant Fondo]

There is a TD125 on Ebay ... not surprised to find out it weighs 18kg!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304778173106?hash=item46f631dab2:g:TSAAAOSwhndjzEas

 

[Poacher]

Just about as far from vintage as a turntable can be, but I noticed an entry-level Audio-technica USB in the auction, and, having a vague hankering after digitising some old vinyl, placed a speculative absentee bid of £30 on it. Retails just under £150*, but that's with a 2 year or more guarantee, unlike a 3rd party auction purchase. Some other commission bidder placed an identical bid, but we were both outgunned by an online bidder at £55. Noticed despite description of "Turntable in box"! At some point, insh' Allah, I'll get a more up-market one from Richer Sounds. https://www.arthurjohnson.co.uk/cat...turday-auctions-11th-february-2023-lot-2385d/

*but of course discounts are available!

 

[Dave7]

What is "vintage" hifi on here ??
My system is all** Techniques seperates from mid 80s.
Speakers are Heybrook for which I paid a goodly amount of money.

 

[Fab Foodie]

What is "vintage" hifi on here ??
My system is all** Techniques seperates from mid 80s.
Speakers are Heybrook for which I paid a goodly amount of money.

Vintage in my book....

 

[Grant Fondo]

What is "vintage" hifi on here ??
My system is all** Techniques seperates from mid 80s.
Speakers are Heybrook for which I paid a goodly amount of money.

Yep, proper retro.
One piece of hifi i miss is my old Sansui tuner, always thought it was cool as black in the 80's and sounded great.

 

[raleighnut]

Ooh, thats nice. Built like a battleship no doubt, i do like the sound of those old Thorens. For that cash doubt if anything current beats it for sound. A Rega P2 with a cheapo cartridge is 500 quid now.

The arm on my Thorens was damaged so I popped up to my fav local HiFi shop (when those existed) to enquire about replacement and found out there is an adapter plate that allows a Rega arm so it now has an RB250 fitted, well actually as it is a Thorens badged one it is a TP250. Rega sell tonearms to various companies 'Moth' being another but the TP250 was fitted to the latest incarnation of the Thorens TD160HD

 

[Grant Fondo]

Never sure why Rega tonearms are so pricey bought on their own? RB303 on my 10 yr old RP3 £350. I paid £375 for deck, tonearm and £100+ Rega cartridge, all brand new. Crazy?

 

[Fab Foodie]

The arm on my Thorens was damaged so I popped up to my fav local HiFi shop (when those existed) to enquire about replacement and found out there is an adapter plate that allows a Rega arm so it now has an RB250 fitted, well actually as it is a Thorens badged one it is a TP250. Rega sell tonearms to various companies 'Moth' being another but the TP250 was fitted to the latest incarnation of the Thorens TD160HD

Mmmm, contemplating this for my TD160 (to replace a 3009) - that's if I ever get round to getting-it going....
But then, why not just buy a new Rega turntable?

EDIT - FFS, 3009 going for ~£350 on fleabay!

 

[raleighnut]

Never sure why Rega tonearms are so pricey bought on their own? RB303 on my 10 yr old RP3 £350. I paid £375 for deck, tonearm and £100+ Rega cartridge, all brand new. Crazy?

I didn't pay that much but it was several years ago, seem to remember @£200 including the armboard, fitting and a 5 pin din plug fitted to the connectors (at the time I was using a QUAD 33 control unit) the guy (Gev Jones) also had a Stilton Audio modified Nagaoka cartridge body which would replace the MP11 Boron I had fitted, Stilton Audio had machined off the square plastic mount and fitted a circular metal one reducing resonance and providing a much better connection to the headshell............he gave it to me.

As for the price of Rega arms I still think they are relatively inexpensive for the performance/sound quality they provide, easily out-performing many tonearms costing 2 or 3 times as much. The Rega 'con' is the 'Rega Carbon' cartridge which is a rebadged Audio Technica unit they sell for about £30 but Rega want £60+ for theirs

 

[raleighnut]

Mmmm, contemplating this for my TD160 (to replace a 3009) - that's if I ever get round to getting-it going....
But then, why not just buy a new Rega turntable?

EDIT - FFS, 3009 going for £350 on fleabay!

TBH fabbers the SME is probably on a par with the Rega so not much benefit.

 

[Fab Foodie]

TBH fabbers the SME is probably on a par with the Rega so not much benefit.

Has a more limited set--up for modern cartridge choice though....

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I'm just about to unload all mine and come kicking and screaming into the C21st

Although tbf I did buy the CD player in 2000 and the other bits shortly after.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I'm just about to unload all mine and come kicking and screaming into the C21st

Although tbf I did buy the CD player in 2000 and the other bits shortly after.

What do you fancy in the 21C if you don't mind me asking?