Thorens - TP 160 Tonearm

Thorens’ 2024 tonearm: a hardened steel knife edge held centred by magnets rather than friction, a detachable SME headshell, and Baerwald geometry with a published maximum distortion of 0.63% between null points.

Thorens called the TP 160 a complete new development and a huge upgrade on the TP 92 it replaced, and the bearing is where the argument lives. A knife-edge bearing is a hardened steel edge resting in a shell — gravity holds it in place and the contact area is close to a line, so friction in the vertical plane is very low. The classic problem with knife edges is lateral wander: nothing stops the edge sliding along its shell. Thorens’ answer is magnetic lateral guidance, holding the bearing precisely centred without anything touching. The horizontal axis runs on Japanese ball bearings adjusted for smoothness.

The headshell detaches on an SME bayonet, which is a bigger deal than it sounds. It means you can keep two cartridges mounted and aligned on separate headshells and swap between them in seconds; it means an Ortofon SPU or any other integrated SME-fitting cartridge will go straight on; and it means alignment is done on a bench rather than crouched over the turntable. The standard headshell is solid aluminium and rotates for azimuth.

The geometry is Baerwald, also called Löfgren A, with null points at 66.0mm and 120.9mm and a published maximum distortion of 0.63% between them. Baerwald minimises the peak tracking distortion across the whole playable surface rather than pushing the error to one end of the record.

VTA is set by a lockable fine thread at the arm base. Anti-skate is a closed, calibrated, continuously adjustable spring. Tracking force is set by static balance using a two-part counterweight, which Thorens’ announcement said accommodates cartridges up to 30 grams. Output is on a five-pole DIN.

One honest note on effective mass. Thorens’ own 2024 datasheet says 16 grams. The German review site LowBeats reports 14. We are giving you both, because the difference matters when you are matching a cartridge’s compliance to an arm.

The TP 160 is the arm fitted to the current TD 1600 and TD 1601. Mounting distance is 215mm and the mounting hole is 30mm.

Features

• Newly developed knife-edge bearing with magnetic lateral guidance
• Japanese ball bearings on the horizontal axis
• Detachable headshell on an SME bayonet — takes an Ortofon SPU or any SME-fitting headshell
• Rotatable solid aluminium headshell for azimuth adjustment
• VTA by a lockable fine thread at the arm base
• Closed, calibrated, continuously adjustable spring anti-skate
• Baerwald / Löfgren A geometry, 0.63% maximum distortion between null points
• Two-part counterweight accommodating cartridges up to 30g
• Fitted to the current Thorens TD 1600 and TD 1601

Specifications

• Type: Nine-inch static-balance tonearm, J-shaped, with a knife-edge bearing
• Arm tube: Large-calibre, resonance-optimised precision aluminium tube. Thorens does not publish the alloy
• Effective length: 232.8mm
• Overhang: 17.8mm
• Offset angle: 23.66°
• Mounting distance (pivot to spindle): 215mm
• Mounting hole diameter: 30mm
• Effective mass: 16g per Thorens’ own 2024 datasheet. The German review site LowBeats reports 14g. We are quoting both — the first is the manufacturer’s figure, the second is a third-party measurement, and the difference matters for cartridge matching
• Alignment geometry: Baerwald / Löfgren A. Null points at 66.0mm (inner) and 120.9mm (outer). Maximum distortion 0.63% between the null points
• Bearing: Vertical: newly developed knife-edge bearing — a hardened steel edge in a two-part bearing shell, with magnetic lateral guidance keeping it centred without friction. Horizontal: high-quality Japanese ball bearings, adjusted for smoothness
• Headshell: Detachable on an SME bayonet connector. The standard headshell is solid aluminium and rotates for azimuth adjustment. Any other SME-bayonet headshell will fit, as will integrated cartridges such as the Ortofon SPU
• VTA / arm height: Adjustable by a lockable fine thread on the tonearm base
• Azimuth: Adjustable by rotating the headshell. Factory pre-adjusted
• Anti-skate: Closed, calibrated, continuously adjustable spring mechanism
• Tracking force: Static balance via a two-part counterweight
• Cartridge weight range: Up to 30g, per Thorens’ own launch announcement as reported in the trade press. This figure does not appear on a current Thorens spec page, so we are attributing it rather than presenting it as a datasheet value
• Internal wiring material: Not published
• Output connection: Five-pole DIN
• Total arm weight: 560g including headshell and counterweight
• Fitted to: Thorens TD 1600 and TD 1601
• What it replaced: The Thorens TP 92, which used a cardanic bearing, friction-free ferrite-magnet anti-skate, a fixed headshell and an 11g effective mass. Thorens’ own words on the TP 160 were that it “is a complete new development and is a huge upgrade to the existing TP92 tonearm”
• Country of manufacture: Not published. Thorens prints no country-of-manufacture statement for this product — only the company address in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, which is a registered office and not a factory.