Used Thorens TD165: worth my dough???


a friend at a local vinyl shop i frequent has a thorens td165 he's willing to part with. he's asking about $100 which seems reasonable.
my questions is: do you think i can realize significant improvement in playback over what i am using now, a dd kenwood, only about 5 years younger than the thorens. the thorens is belt driven and suspended whereas my kenwood is not. i plan on listening to the thorens as soon as possible to compare to my rig, but can anyone offer their 2 cents here.
my thoughts are the following: belt drive plus suspended table will definitely better my dd, nonsuspended plastic kenwood. the thorens has seen better days cosmetically, but i think i can cope. for 20 yrs old it seems like its in decent shape.
one last thing, how difficult will the setup be re: suspension and leveling? have no experience here, but consider myself a quick learner.
thanks as always
fujindemon

Showing 1 response by hwdsound

This turtable is worth the money if it is in good working order and better than your DD Kenwood. There are several little tweaks you can do if you know what you are doing with turntables.
For example, the tonearm bearings can be adjusted properly if they seem loose. After all these years, it most likely is. New interconnect cables can be hard wired in.
The main turntable bearing can be cleaned out and new oil can be put it, like mobil one.
The suspension can be adjusted.
If you are not handy with these kinds of things, then either buy something else or have someone do it for you...and of course make sure they know what they are doing.