Thorens TD 166 MkII with SME tone arm

Faradayblue, Yes, change the mat! You can then transfer it to a TD160 when you get there. I would wait until you get a better arm before upgrading the cartridge: you will hear a significant improvement with the arm alone, and the mat. There are fans of all kinds of mats on this website: for myself, I am considering the Boston Audio Design Mat1, a heavy graphite mat which will push the performance of your 'table by a surprising amount: I'll be putting mine on a Lenco and on an Ariston. There are so many mats I've forgotten all the names: start a new thread to the effect of which mats work best with metal platters to get this info. I have kept the bearing/platter from a TD160, which is a work of art, one of the best I've seen. I plan to build a whole new 'table around this platform. With the 160 you'll have the platform you're seeking for those SME tonearms, and don't believe anyone who says these 'tables aren't "serious."

Again the stock arm properly cared for and setup is quite good on the TD 166mk2 mine sounds excellent with a Grado black a real cheapo..but will accept many finer cartriges to say the least..great arm "bad advice" sometimes...

This is nonesense the Toanarm on the stock TD 166mk2 is excellent IF you take care in cartridge matching and the arm is in good shape to start with..Thornes new how to make arms..this is a fact..save your money

SME 309, V and IV cannot be mounted on old sprung Thorens, or even LP12. The arm is too heavy for the designed load of the tables. Stick to light arms like the current SME M series or the older 3009 series.