Thorens - TD 124 DD Direct Drive Turntable

Not a reissue. Thorens’ own manual calls the TD 124 DD a completely new development — the look and the concept of the 1957 legend, with a modern high-precision direct drive where the idler wheel used to be, a 3.5kg platter and the twelve-inch TP 124 arm.

The original TD 124 of 1957 was an idler-drive transcription turntable and one of the most respected machines ever built. Thorens is explicit that this is not that turntable rebuilt. Their manual uses the phrase “komplett neu entwickelte” — completely newly developed — and frames the project as “Reviving a Legend”: the purist design language and core construction of the original, with the drive system replaced entirely.

That distinction matters practically as well as historically. The original used an iron platter, which could interact with a cartridge’s magnets. This one uses die-cast aluminium, 3.5kg of it, spun by a direct-drive motor Thorens describes as high-precision and high-torque. There is no belt and no idler.

The tonearm is the Thorens TP 124: 232.8mm effective length, 17.8mm overhang, 23.66° offset, 18g effective mass, with anti-skate applied through a ruby-mounted counterweight and a removable headshell on a standard SME connector. Thorens supplies two counterweights, the second sized specifically for the Thorens SPU 124 cartridge.

The SPU 124 — a Thorens and Ortofon collaboration in classic SPU form, developed for this turntable and this arm — is offered as an option rather than fitted as standard. Ask us if you want the deck configured that way.

The TPN 124 linear power supply is included in the box. Thorens sells it as a paid upgrade on the TD 404 DD; here it is standard.

Two published figures worth reading carefully. Thorens gives wow and flutter twice under one heading: 0.035% by DIN and 0.007% W.R.M.S. The five-fold gap between them is not an error — the two methods weight the measurement very differently — but the numbers are not interchangeable and anyone comparing this deck against another should make sure they are comparing the same standard. And no rumble or signal-to-noise figure is published at all for this turntable, which is a real gap on a flagship.

Features

• A completely new direct-drive design, not a reissue — Thorens’ own words
• High-precision, high-torque direct-drive motor with no belt and no idler wheel
• 3.5kg die-cast aluminium platter, replacing the original’s iron platter
• Thorens TP 124 tonearm, 18g effective mass, removable SME headshell
• Anti-skate by ruby-mounted counterweight
• Two counterweights supplied, the second sized for the Thorens SPU 124 cartridge
• Patented electric tonearm lift
• TPN 124 external linear power supply included
• Balanced XLR and RCA outputs

Specifications

• Type: Direct-drive turntable
• Relationship to the 1957 TD 124: Homage, not reissue. Thorens’ manual describes the TD 124 DD as a completely new development that builds on the tradition of the original, reviving its purist design and core construction while replacing the idler drive with a modern direct-drive motor
• Drive: Direct drive
• Motor: Described by Thorens only as a high-precision direct-drive motor delivering powerful torque. No model, voltage, coreless claim or torque figure is published
• Speed regulation: Not published. No quartz-lock, servo or feedback-sensor detail appears in the datasheet or manual
• Platter: Aluminium, 3.5kg. Thorens publishes no diameter figure in the spec table, though the twelve-inch class is implied by the arm
• Speeds: 33 1/3 and 45rpm. 78rpm is not offered
• Start-up time and starting torque: Not published
• Wow and flutter: Thorens publishes two figures on one line: 0.035% DIN and 0.007% W.R.M.S. These are the same performance measured two different ways, not two different specifications, and they are not interchangeable when comparing against other turntables
• Rumble / signal-to-noise: Not published in any Thorens source. A genuine gap on a flagship product
• Tonearm: Thorens TP 124. Type, tube material and bearing type are not published
• Effective tonearm length: 232.8mm
• Overhang: 17.8mm
• Offset angle: 23.66°
• Effective tonearm mass: 18g
• VTA and azimuth: Thorens’ product page claims precise adjustment in all parameters but publishes no numeric specification for either
• Anti-skate: Ruby-mounted counterweight
• Headshell: Removable, standard SME connector. Two counterweights are supplied, one sized specifically for the Thorens SPU 124
• Cartridge fitted: None as standard. Thorens offers the Thorens-Ortofon SPU 124 as an option — a specially adapted version of the Ortofon SPU developed jointly by the two companies for this turntable and arm
• Built-in phono stage: Not published. No phono-stage claim appears in any Thorens document for this model
• Outputs: RCA and balanced XLR. Whether the cable is detachable is not published
• Tonearm lift: Patented electric tonearm lift for cueing. Whether the mechanism also stops the platter at the end of a side is not spelled out in Thorens’ documentation
• Plinth material and finishes: Not published on the core spec sheet
• Feet / isolation: Not published
• Dust cover: Not published either way
• Dimensions: 425 x 350 x 185 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight: 17kg, explicitly stated without the power supply
• Power supply: External TPN 124 linear power supply, included in the scope of delivery. Mains input 115V or 230V AC, 60/50Hz, 5W consumption
• Scope of delivery: External power supply, two tonearm counterweights, a tool to adjust the tonearm, and the instruction manual
• Country of manufacture: Not published. Thorens prints no country-of-manufacture statement on this product’s page, datasheet or manual — only the company address in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, which is a registered office and not a factory. Trade press including Stereophile and Darko.audio has reported that Thorens works with a manufacturing partner in Taiwan and that the direct-drive motor is made there; that is third-party reporting, not a Thorens statement, and we are flagging it rather than presenting it either way.