THORENS TD 166 MKII User manual

THORENS TD 146 and TD 166 MKII Owner's Manual
Contents
Introduction
I. Unpacking
II. Assembling
the turntable
III. Electrical
connections
and
installation
IV. Tracking
force
adjustment
V. Antiskating
adjustment
VI. Operation of
the TD 146
VII. Operation of
the TD 166
MkII
VIII. Mounting
and
adjustment
of the
pickup
cartridge
IX. Technical
specifications
X. THORENS
factory
warranty
Please send any questions, comments, or corrections to:
Ron Stewart ([email protected])

Links
Here are links to some other pages with information about Thorens turntables and other vintage
equipment.
The Analog Dept. is a very comprehensive site about Thorens (and other) turntables. In particular, if
you own a TD-160, you need to visit this site.
Vinyl Asylum is also a great source of information about turntables, old and new, including Thorens.
Just search the archives.
Retro Hi-fi is a nice site about vintage audio equipment in general.
The Tuner Information Center is a wonderful source of information about vintage tuners. It's great for
researching tuners that show up at eBay and other auction sites.
If you own a Tandberg 3011 or 3011A, or are just curious about these tuners, I also have a 3011
manual online.

Congratulations!
You are now the proud owner of a THORENS turntable.
You have purchased a high-quality component that has been designed to afford many hours of
listening pleasure.
The THORENS TD 146 and TD 166 MkII Turntables are precision instruments which, with
reasonable care, will deliver optimum reproduction quality and protect your records for years to
come. The auto-stop feature and the lifting mechanism of the TD 146 enable faultless
reproduction to be combined with the convenience of automatic end-of-play shutoff.
In order to prevent improper operation, which could impair reproduction quality or lead to
damage of the turntable or of a valuable record, we with to advise you to read this instruction
manual completely before unpacking the turntable and putting it into operation.
This recommendation is of particular importance when the unit has been purchased with an
empty cartridge wand and a pickup cartridge must therefore be installed.
Next > Top

I. Unpacking
Figure 2
The arrangement of the
packed turntable is shown
in Figure 2. The upper
styrofoam packing may
easily be removed by
grasping the opening on
either side and lifting
straight up.
The turntable can now be
taken out of the lower
styrofoam packing.
Do not use the tone arm
assembly as a handle!
The top styrofoam
packing enclosure (Figure
3) contains the dust cover
and the following
turntable components:
●a hinged storage
case containing the
TP 63 cartridge
wand (5) with all
accessoriess
including (if
delivered with the
turntable) the

Figure 3
mounted cartridge
pickup.
●the AC mains
aapter (6)
●antiskating weight
Figure 4
The lower styrofoam
packing contains the outer
turntable platter with
rubber mat, the tone arm
counterweight, and the
center-hole adapter (4) for
45 RMP records. The
rubber drive belt is packed
underneath the turntable
platter (Figure 4). Since
the envelope of moisture
absorbing material loses
its effectiveness upon
contact with the open air,
it should be discarded.
Save all packing materials,
including the cardboard
spacers, for possible
reshipment or transport at
some later date.

Figure 5
Important notice!
The apparatus
incorporates a transport
lock for the subchassis.
This must be unscrewed
before the turntable is
used (Figure 5). Unscrew
the two screws until the
subchassis is freely
suspended.
< Previous Next > Top

II. Assembling the turntable
Figure 6
The motor spindle, motor
pulley, turntable bearing
and tone arm assembly are
designed to very close
tolerances. As precision
parts, they should be
protected against shock
and strain. Exercise
particular care in fitting or
removing any part of the
turntable assembly.
For shipping or
transporting, always
remove the large outer
platter, the TP 63 cartridge
wand and the tone arm
counterweight from the
turntable.
Loop the drive belt around
the inner turntable platter
and motor pulley as shown
in Figure 6.
Center the outer turntable
platter on the inner one
and set the rubber mat in
place.
The belt, motor pulley and
the periphery of the inner
turntable should be
entirely free of any trace
of oil or grease. If
necessary clean them with
a lintfree cloth dampened
with denatured alcohol or
methylated spirits.

Figure 7
The TP 11 Mk III tone
arm consists of the bearing
assembly and the TP 63
cartridge wand, illustrated
in Figure 7. The cartridge
wand with pickup
cartridge is plugged into
the bearing assembly and
secured by tightening the
knurled collar.
Instructions for mounting
a pickup cartridge are
given in Section VIII.
Tighten the counterweight
temporarily into position
at the rear end of the tone
arm (see Figure 10 in
Section IV).
Remove the dust cover
from the upper packing
enclosure and fit it into the
hinges (3) of the turntable
base (Figure 1).
< Previous Next > Top

III. Electrical connections and installation
1. The turntable may
be powered from
any line voltage by
using the
appropriate
THORENS AC
Adapter (6).
Verify that the line
voltage of the
adapter delivered
with your turntable
corresponds to the
line voltage
intended for use.
2. The stereophonic
signal cable is
terminated with
RCA (Cinch)
phono plugs, coded
as follows: L for
left channel, and R
for right channel.
They are to be
connected to the
appropriate phono
input of an
amplifier or
receiver.
The separate wire
should be attached
to the grounding
screw at the chassis
of the amplifier. It
establishes a
common ground
and thus prevents
hum introduction
(Figure 8).

Figure 8
Amplifiers with a 5
pin DIN input
connector require
an adapter cable
(RCA female to
DIN male),
available at your
dealer.
If hum should be
heard in the
loudspeakers when
the turntable is in
use, check that the
cartridge wand is
firmly attached to
the bearing
assembly and that
the connections to
the pickup
cartridge are
secure. Hum may
also be produced
by the close
proximity of
amplifiers or other
appliances. Your
THORENS dealer
or service
representative
should be
consulted if hum-
free performance
cannot be achieved.
One should avoid a
position such as
shown in Figure 9.
When connecting
the turntable to
other hi-fi
equipment, care

Figure 9
should be taken
that mains
transformers
incorporated within
any ancillary units
be not situated too
close to the pickup
cartridge. Magnetic
cartridges are
sensitive to the
influence of
magnetic fields of
mainns
transformers and
may produce hum
as a result.
The turntable
should be installed
in a location
allowing the dust
cover to be opened
freely. Avoid the
immediate vicinity
of heating units.
Placement of the
turntable on a solid
cabinet and out of
direct line with the
loudspeakers will
minimize the
possibility of
acoustic vibrations
impairing
reproduction
quality.
< Previous Next > Top

IV. Tracking force adjustment
Figure 10
10 mN (milliNewton) .= 1
p (pond) = 1 g (gram
weight)
Before the tracking force
can be set, the tone arm
with the cartridge must be
balanced as follows.
Turn on the turntable (see
Section VI or VII). Turn
the lift knob to the play
position thus
lowering the tone arm lift
platform. Position the arm
between the arm rest and
the turntable platter.
Hold the arm with the left
hand to avoid damaging
the stylus.
Move the counterweight
AB, Figure 10, by turning
it along the tubular arm
extension until the arm
balanced in a horizontal
position. For the following
adjustment, clamp the arm
in its arm rest.
Turn the black dial ring B
at the counterweight until
its zero graduation
corresponds to the marker
line on the ton arm tube.
Hold counterweight A to
prevent turning. The

counterweight scale is
now calibrated for the
pickup to be used. The
counterweight scale is
graduated in grams.
To apply the desired
tracking force, turn the
entire counterweight AB
towards the tone arm
bearing until the
appropriate point on the
scale corresponds to the
marker line on the ton arm
tube. In Figure 10, a
tracking force of 1 gram is
shown.
The tracking force may be
initially chosen according
to the recommendation of
the cartridge
manufacturer. This
settings will often be
correct; however, it should
be noted that such
prescribed tracking forces
are frequently based on
ideal playing conditions, i.
e., using records
containing only moderate
signal modulations and
exhibiting no surface
warps.
In practice, the conditions
for accurately tracking a
record groove are often
more demanding. The
presence of audible
distortion in both
reproduction channels
during loud passages may

indicate the presence of
tracking distortion, which
can be eliminated by
increasing the tracking
force by 0.25 or 0.5
grams. This measure will
actually extend the lift
expectancy of the record
played, since tracking
distortion is invariably
accompanied by groove
deformation and hence
premature wear.
Distortion in only one
channel may be caused by
an incorrectly adjusted
antiskating force, treated
in Section V.
It is necessary that the
stylus tip be kept free of
residues to insure
optimum tracking
performance; use only a
stylus brush made for
cleaning purposes.
< Previous Next > Top

V. Antiskating adjustment
Figure 11
The friction of the stylus
in the moving record
groove produces a force
which may be resolved
into a component Fr
pulling lonngitudinally on
the tonne arm and a
component Fs pressing
perpendicularly on the
inner groove wall (Figure
11).
Fs is designated as the
skating force; it can lift
the stylus out of the
groove and send it skating
across the record surface
toward the center of the
turntable.
To counteract this
tendency, an additional
weight on the THORENS
TP 11 MkIII Tone Arm
applies an antiskating
force directed outward.
The required antiskating
force is indicated in Figure
12 and Table I.
If the record surface is
entirely covered by a film
of liquid (for liquid groove
cleaning), the required
antiskating force is
reduced. The column in
Table 1 labeled "liquid"
consider this condition.

Figure 12
Small Weight
Stylus Force(g) 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00
dry: notch 1 2 4 5 6
wet: notch 1 2 3 4 5 6
Great Weight
Stylus Force(g) 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00
dry: notch 1 2 3 4 5 6
wet: notch 1 2 3 4
Table 1
The figures of Table I are
applicable for both
spherical and elliptical
styli for tracking forces of
up to 2.5 grams. For
elliptical styli, tracking
forces greater than 2.5
grams should be avoided
to prevent excessive
record wear.
If distortion should occur
even though the stylus
force recommended by the
cartridge manufacturer has
been set (with
corresponding antiskating
force), a corrective
adjustment is necessary.
To determine the proper
antiskating setting, select a
good stereo recording
containing loud,
fortissimo passages near
the end of the recordd.
●If distortion is
clearly audible in
both channels,
increase the trackig
force by small
amounts until the
distortion ceases or
diminishes to a
minimum in one
channel.
●Set the antiskating
force to a low
position (e.g., 0.5)
and observe the
effect. Gradually

increase the
antiskating setting
until the distortion
ceases in both
channels.
If the distortion moves to
the other channel, the
antiskating force is too
high and must be reduced.
< Previous Next > Top

VII. Operation of the TD 166 MkII
Figure 16
The knob (1) to the left in
of the turntable platter is
used to turn on the unit
and select the speed
simultaneously.
Turning the knob (1) to
"33" selects 33 1/3 RMP,
turning to "45" selects 45
RPM.
Figure 17
The lift knob (2) at the
right allows the tone arm
to be lowered onto, or
raised from, any desired
point on the record.
Turning the lift knob (2)
to the play position
lowers the tone arm onto
the record.
Turning the lift knob (2)
to the rest position
raises the tone arm.
The adapter (4) at the
center of the turntable
platter may be reversed for
playing 7 inch records
with large center hole.

< Previous Next > Top

VI. Operation of the TD 146 turntable
Figure 13
The knob (1), situated left
in front of the turntable
platter, controls the
turntable speed, the
starting of the turntable
and the interruption of
record play. Turning the
control knob on the right
hand side of the unit (2) to
the position lowers
the tone arm onto the
record. When turned to
the knob lifts the tone
arm off the record.
Speed selection
The speed (33 1/3 or 45
RPM) is selected by
turning the knob (1) to the
corresponding figure. The
adapter (4) is employed at
the center of the turntable
platter for records with a
large center hole.