Thorens - TD 1601 Sub-Chassis Turntable with TP 160 Tonearm

The TD 1600 with a patented electric tonearm lift and a touchless, optoelectronic auto shut-off: at the run-out groove it stops the platter and raises the arm without anything touching anything.

Everything mechanical here is the TD 1600. Thorens’ own spec table lists the two models identically — same electronically regulated AC synchronous motor, same stabilised sub-chassis on three conical springs anchored against lateral movement, same two-part 4.2kg machined aluminium platter, same TP 160 tonearm, same true balanced XLR and RCA outputs, same external TPN 1600 linear supply, same dimensions, same 11kg. What the 1601 adds is automation, and it adds it in a way that does not compromise the rest.

The end-of-side mechanism is optoelectronic. Nothing rides on the arm, nothing drags, and no mechanical trip is coupled to a tonearm that spends its life trying to read grooves measured in microns. When the stylus reaches the run-out groove the deck stops the platter and raises the arm. There is also a patented electric lift for cueing, so you can lower and raise the arm from a switch rather than a lever.

That matters more than convenience. A stylus left circling the run-out groove for an hour is wearing itself and the record for nothing, and it is the most common way people quietly ruin a good cartridge.

Note that balanced output is not the difference between the 1600 and the 1601 — both have it. The difference is only the lift and the shut-off.

No cartridge is fitted. Thorens developed the TAS 1600 moving coil specifically for this turntable; ask us about it, or bring us whatever you already own and we will mount and align it.

Features

• Patented electric tonearm lift for cueing from a switch
• Touchless optoelectronic auto shut-off — stops the platter and raises the arm at the run-out groove
• Stabilised sub-chassis on three conical springs, anchored against lateral movement
• Electronically regulated and stabilised AC synchronous motor
• External TPN 1600 linear power supply with a toroidal transformer, 2 x 16V
• Two-part machined aluminium platter, 12 inches, 4.2kg
• Thorens TP 160 knife-edge tonearm with magnetic lateral guidance and a detachable SME headshell
• True balanced XLR output as well as RCA
• Acrylic dust cover included

Specifications

• Type: Belt-driven turntable with a suspended sub-chassis, electric lift and auto shut-off
• What it adds over the TD 1600: A patented electric tonearm lift and a touchless, optoelectronically triggered end-of-side mechanism that stops the platter and raises the arm. Thorens’ own brochure lists every other specification identically for the two models. Balanced output is not a differentiator — both have it
• Drive: Belt drive. Machined precision belt with adjustable tension
• Motor: AC synchronous, fully electronically regulated and stabilised
• Sub-chassis: Stabilised sub-chassis on three conical springs, anchored at the bottom with a steel thread and pin connection to prevent lateral movement
• Platter: Two-part machined aluminium, 12″, 4.2kg
• Speeds: 33 1/3 and 45rpm. No 78rpm capability is published
• Wow and flutter: Less than or equal to 0.06%. Thorens cites no measurement standard
• Rumble / signal-to-noise: Not published
• Tonearm: Thorens TP 160. Nine-inch J-shaped arm with a large-calibre aluminium tube. The bearing is a newly developed knife-edge design — a hardened steel edge sitting in a two-part bearing shell, with magnetic lateral guidance keeping it centred without friction, and Japanese ball bearings on the horizontal axis. Effective length 232.8mm, overhang 17.8mm, offset angle 23.66°, mounting distance 215mm. Effective mass 16g per Thorens’ own 2024 datasheet, though the German review site LowBeats measured and reported 14g — we are giving you both. Detachable headshell on an SME bayonet, rotatable for azimuth. VTA by a lockable fine thread at the arm base. Anti-skate by a closed, calibrated, continuously adjustable spring. Baerwald / Löfgren A geometry with null points at 66.0mm and 120.9mm and a maximum distortion of 0.63% between them. Five-pole DIN output. Total arm weight 560g with headshell and counterweight
• A note on the tonearm: Thorens’ site currently hosts two live pages for this model — one showing the older TP 92 and one, matching the current brochure, showing the TP 160. That is Thorens contradicting itself. This listing is the current TP 160 version
• Cartridge fitted: None. Thorens developed the TAS 1600 moving coil specifically for the TD 1600 and TD 1601 — ask us
• Outputs: True balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA
• Plinth: Real wood, offered in black and walnut
• Dust cover: Acrylic dust cover included
• Dimensions: 454 x 180 x 369 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight: 11kg
• Power supply: External TPN 1600 linear power supply with a toroidal transformer, 2 x 16V
• 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 has reported Taiwanese manufacturing involvement across parts of the Thorens range; that is third-party reporting, not a Thorens statement, and we are not going to present it as one.