TP 92
The new THORENS®precision tonearm. Now available as nine-, ten- or twelve-inch version.
The new 9" uni-pivot tonearm
Features
Uni-pivot bearing: The innovative, minimal-friction bearing system uses a conical carbide tip resting within an intricate arrangement of five small bearing balls.
Arm tube: The arm tube is manufactured from cold-forged, eight-layer aluminium. A laser vibrometer was used to analyse the tube’s resonances, enabling our designers to target specific frequencies.
Headshell: The headshell material is reinforced with carbon fibre to provide an extremely high level of rigidity. Overhang can be adjusted either by sliding the headshell into the desired position on the tube or by adjusting the entire tube in the bearing block.
Tracking force: The tracking force can be adjusted by rotating the tonearm counterweights, which are decoupled by means of rubber rings. The larger weight provides rough adjustment, while the smaller, eccentric weight is used for fine adjustment of the tracking force and also to adjust azimuth.
Anti-skating: The anti-skating force is set by hanging the bias weight on the tonearm’s bias shaft.
VTA: The vertical tracking angle be easily adjusted by loosening the arm collar lock nut and raising or lowering the entire tonearm.
The new tonearm for the TD 190-2 and TD 240-2
The new TP 19-1 tonearm is designed to deliver improved performance as well as a far better look and feel. It adds significant value to the TD 240 and TD 190-1, which are now available as TD 240-2 and TD 190-2.
Features
Gimbal mounting: The entire assembly is mounted on a non-warping aluminium frame. This precision bearing technology rests in ball races by means of hardened and polished steel needles. The same technology can also be found in navigation instruments (gyro) employed in aerospace.
Counterweight: The counterweight includes a damper bush to decouple it from the arm tube to reduce colouration.
Headshell: The headshell is manufactured from high-grade synthetic materials reinforced by carbon fibre for extreme stiffness and rigidity.
Tracking force: After having achieved total equilibrium of the tone arm, tracking force is adjusted by means of a precision torsion spring. Its force is always the same with respect to magnitude and direction. It therefore does not matter if the record player is no totally level.
Anti-skating (bias): Bias is individually adjustable via a scale.
Documents
THE THORENS® Precision-Tonearm
The TP 92 is a cardanic design that follows the Loefgren geometry. It was developed in parallel with the TD 309 turntable, which allowed our designers to achieve optimal compatibility. The horizontal bearing is a high-precision Japanese ball bearing that uses a specially developed oil. It is located underneath the tonearm tube at the same level as the stylus for enhanced stability. The counterweight, decoupled by two rubber rings, is also exactly level with the stylus.
Features
Now available as nine-, ten- or twelve-inch version.
The tonearm tube is manufactured from high-quality cold-forged aluminium. A laser vibrometer was used to analyse the tube’s resonances, enabling our designers to target specific frequencies.
The headshell is also made from aluminium and tightly coupled to the tube for increased stability. Overhang can be adjusted either by sliding the headshell into the desired position on the tube or by adjusting the entire tube in the bearing block. The tube can also be rotated on its axis in order to adjust azimuth. The shape of the headshell ensures that the pick-up cartridge’s centre of gravity is always directly underneath the tonearm tube, thus preventing torsional vibrations.
VTA can be easily adjusted by loosening the arm collar lock nut and raising or lowering the entire tonearm. The anti-skating force is provided by two ferrite magnets and can be increased or decreased with the help of an adjustment screw.
The TP 92 is available with lose tonearm cables or mini DIN 5-pin plug.
Awards
Thorens TP 160 - High-end tonearm with knife-edge bearing
The TP 160 is a nine-inch radial arm in the medium weight class. Its favorable mass distribution and high strength make it the ideal support for the finest cartridges. These fit into the standard original headshell, which has been newly designed along with the arm. Alternatively, the TP 160 also accommodates any other headshell with SME bayonet or integrated cartridges like the Ortofon SPU. Since the effective lengths of different cartridges can vary slightly, we have also provided for axial adjustment of the arm tube to ensure perfect overhang at all times.
Perfected knife-edge bearing by Helmut Thiele
Thorens designer Helmut Thiele has given the TP 160 a powerful, clear form that looks stunning on both old and new turntables. For horizontal movement, the arm is equipped with high-quality Japanese ball bearings, adjusted for perfect smoothness and freedom from play, maintaining these qualities even in tough everyday use. Vertically, the arm tube moves in our completely newly developed knife-edge bearing. Gravity, magnetism, and precision mechanics work together here, resulting in play-free, defined mobility without any breakaway torque. The bearing is self-centering, frictionless, maintenance-free, and robust.
In the Thorens knife-edge bearing, a hardened steel edge meets a two-part constructed bearing shell, allowing practically linear contact and exhibiting no axial play. A traditional weakness of knife-edge bearings is their often-undefined lateral limitation. Our new magnetic lateral guidance solves this problem, keeping the knife-edge bearing precisely centered in its shell without any contact or friction. World-class MCs (Moving Coil cartridges) detect this precisely defined, force-free centering and respond with enhanced tracking ability and relaxed, stress-free performance.
Extensive, practical adjustment options
The TP 160 can be extensively and reproducibly adjusted. VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) adjustment is defined and secure, achieved through a lockable fine thread on the tonearm base. Skating force is compensated for by a closed, calibrated, continuously adjustable spring mechanism. The azimuth adjustment is facilitated by a rotatable headshell. From the factory, it is pre-adjusted to exact parallel alignment, so correction is usually not necessary with high-quality systems. Tracking force is traditionally achieved through static balance. Thanks to its two-part counterweight, the arm handles both heavy and light cartridges and headshells equally well.
With the standard headshell made of solid aluminum, the TP 160 falls into the medium to heavy weight class. The effective mass can be increased or decreased as needed by using suitable headshells. The enormous strength of its large-caliber, resonance-optimized arm tube and the energy-dissipating bearing construction enable the TP 160 to deliver outstanding performance even with tough, mechanically demanding MCs (Moving Coil cartridges).
