In response to the Thorens TD165 I think it is an excellent introductory turntable. I have one I got for $140 and am very happy. I hope to upgrade to the Rega Planar 3 at some point but the Thorens is well built and performs well for a 22 year old hi-fi piece. Draw backs are I have had difficulty fitting some cartridges to the head shell and it seems sensitive to footfalls and vibration but over all a good buy.
