Thorens - New Reference Turntable

Thorens’ flagship, and the only turntable they call the best they have ever made: a hydrodynamic bearing, a hand-finished three-phase German motor driven by three linear amplifiers, quartz-locked to within three parts per million over twenty years, and active vibration isolation by Seismion.

Every other turntable in this shop deals with vibration by absorbing it. The New Reference cancels it. Thorens developed the deck with Seismion, a German company whose active isolation technology uses piezoelectric sensors and a Sky-Hook damping principle to detect disturbance and drive an equal and opposite correction. Thorens’ claim is that it isolates disturbances below 1Hz and reduces them to under one per cent, and that the system is up to a hundred times more effective than air suspension. There is also absolute-velocity damping applied to the platter itself.

The drive is as unusual. The motor is a three-phase synchronous type, German-made and hand-finished, fed by three separate all-linear power amplifiers producing sine waves shifted 120° apart — not a switching drive, not a single-phase motor with a capacitor, but three clean linear channels generating a genuine rotating field. Speed is read by an ultra-precise rotary encoder and locked by a double-oscillator quartz reference. Thorens states the resulting stability two different ways in their own materials: a maximum of three parts per million over twenty years, and 33.3332 to 33.3334 revolutions per minute over twenty years. Those are consistent with each other; we are quoting both because Thorens quotes both.

The platter runs on a hydrodynamic disc bearing driven by a precision belt.

The deck takes up to three tonearm bases and accepts 9, 10 and 12-inch arms. Thorens names two in this context: their own new TP 160, and the Thiele TA01, Helmut Thiele’s design that holds tracking error to a maximum of 0.036° across the whole record. What Thorens does not say clearly is whether any arm is included as standard or whether each base is fitted to order — so we are not going to tell you it comes with one.

Being straight with you about the rest: Thorens publishes no dimensions, no weight, no platter material or mass, no wow and flutter or rumble figure, no output specification and no price for the New Reference, and does not state whether it is currently in production. The microsite is live and the product is presented as current. This is a turntable you buy by conversation, not by spec sheet. Talk to us and we will find out exactly what is available, in what configuration, at what price, before you commit to anything.

Features

• Active vibration isolation by Seismion, using piezoelectric sensors and Sky-Hook damping
• Thorens claims isolation of disturbances below 1Hz, reduced to under one per cent
• Absolute-velocity damping applied to the platter
• Hydrodynamic disc bearing with precision belt drive
• Three-phase synchronous motor, German-made and hand-finished
• Three all-linear power amplifiers producing 120°-shifted sine waves
• Ultra-precise rotary encoder with double-oscillator quartz speed control
• Up to three tonearm bases, accepting 9, 10 and 12-inch arms

Specifications

• Type: Belt-driven reference turntable with active vibration isolation
• What Thorens says it is: “The best record player we’ve ever made,” developed in co-operation with Seismion, the German active-isolation specialist
• Drive: Precision belt drive on a hydrodynamic disc bearing
• Motor: Three-phase synchronous, described by Thorens as high-quality German-made and hand-finished in Germany, driven by three all-linear power amplifiers producing sine signals shifted 120° apart
• Speed control: Ultra-precise rotary encoder with quartz control and a double oscillator. Thorens states the stability two ways: a maximum of 3ppm over twenty years, and 33.3332 to 33.3334rpm over twenty years. Both are Thorens’ own wording
• Vibration isolation: Fully integrated active isolation by Seismion using piezoelectric sensors and the Sky-Hook damping principle. Thorens claims it isolates disturbances already below 1Hz and reduces them to less than one per cent, and describes it as up to a hundred times more effective than air suspension. Platter absolute-velocity damping is also by Seismion
• Platter material, diameter and weight: Not published
• Speeds: Not published
• Wow and flutter: Not published. The twenty-year speed-stability claim above is a different measurement and should not be read as a wow-and-flutter figure
• Rumble / signal-to-noise: Not published
• Tonearms: Up to three tonearm bases, accepting 9, 10 and 12-inch arms. Thorens names their own TP 160 and the Thiele TA01, the latter cited with a maximum tracking error angle of 0.036° across the record. Whether any arm is included as standard is not clearly stated by Thorens — ask us and we will confirm before you order
• Cartridge: Not published. No cartridge is named as fitted or included
• Outputs: Not published
• Plinth material and finishes: Not published
• Dimensions and weight: Not published
• Power supply: Not published beyond the three linear amplifiers driving the motor, which is a drive-electronics description rather than a mains supply specification
• Production status: Thorens does not state one way or the other. The dedicated microsite is live and the product is presented as current. We would confirm availability, configuration and price with the distributor before taking your order
• Country of manufacture: Not published as a statement about the finished turntable. Thorens does state that the motor is German-made and hand-finished in Germany, and that Seismion, the isolation partner, is a German company. Those are component and partner statements, not a country of manufacture for the assembled deck