I just spoke with Dave Archambault of Vinyl Nirvana, and he told me that he has a wide variety of restored AR and Thorens turntables now available--an embarrassment of riches so to speak. After my recent interview with Dave in Perfect Sound Forever, it's clear that Vinyl Nirvana is taking off and has become one of the premier turntable restoration services in the entire world. As a result, Dave is able to offer more completely restored turntables than ever before...more proof that the 21st century vinyl surge is still peaking.
This particular turntable caught my fancy. I'm a sucker for a beautiful wood surface, and this solid zebrawood plinth on this Thorens TD-150 sent a chill down my back. Looking closely, however, you may notice that this TD-150 looks more like a Linn LP-12 than a traditional Thorens. Dave extended the base of the turntable, much like he's been doing for those unique long-base Thorens TD-125s with the 12" tonearms, so that this TD-150 can accommodate a Linn-sized tonearm. He then added a Music Hall Cruise Control to stabilize the platter speed--Dave feels that this $295 unit "makes the music jump right out of the groove." You also get the Bren record clamp that Dave includes on many of his beautiful creations.
Finally, Dave has installed the Moth RB-202 tonearm--an OEM Rega arm--which has been rewired with Cardas Audio tonearm cable. The result is a turntable that has been influenced by the Linn LP-12, and comes close to achieving the same level of performance according to Dave. The price for everything? Just $1495 complete plus shipping.
Dave's success with the long-base TD-125 (there's only one more available this year) has led him to tackle this more modest project. Hopefully, he'll keep creating more of these unique vintage turntables--I can't wait to see what he'll do with an AR ES-1. If you're interested in one of these TD-150s, contact Dave at Vinyl Nirvana immediately.
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