Pro-Ject and Rega have arguably been dominating the turntable market at the £500-£600 price point, but now Thorens have thrown a spanner in the works. The Thorens TD-203 is their entry into this competitive class, and it certainly is creating a stir!
The Pro-Ject Xpression Carbon UKX & Rega Planar 3 have been dominant in this category, and for good reason, both are specced very well, and most importantly sound good too!
Pro-Ject Xpression UKX: Product Link: Click Here
The Pro-Ject Xpression UKX, although is the most expensive in this class, offers a gloss plinth in a range of exciting colors, a Pro-Ject Carbon Fiber tonearm, factory fitted Ortofon 2M Silver and new DC power-supply with Low-noise synchronous AC motor, so certainly, it gives you a lot for your money, although you will pay the top price in this class, you can decide for yourself if its worth the extra £££...
Rega P3: Product Link: Click here
The Rega P3, on the other hand, is no slouch either, coming in at £550 it is cheaper than the Pro-Ject, however, unless you have your own cartridge a more realistic price will be the £625 by adding the factory fitted Elys 2 cartridge, which is naturally a good match to the Rega P3. The Rega offers their own RB330 Tonearm, a high gloss plinth (Red, Black, White), 24v Motor and glass platter, with a redesigned sub platter, it's another great option, especially if you add the Elys 2 cartridge.
But know the new kid on the block, the Thorens TD-203: Product Link: Click here
Naturally with the huge rise in popularity of vinyl again, many turntable manufacturers looked to produce products at every price point, to allow everyone to get back into the stunning world of vinyl, and that's what Thorens have done with the TD-203. The TD-203 is rated as an "out of the box" solution, and comes fully assembled and is factory-set. It takes no more than five minutes from opening the box to playing music from a vinyl record.
The TD 203 leaves aficionados room to fine-tune and adjust the performance to their personal preferences. The tonearm, for example, offers facilities to adjust azimuth and overhang.
The pick-up cartridge can be easily changed in a matter of minutes. The scope of delivery includes a specially designed transparent Perspex dust cover, which is a nice touch!
The TD 203 comes with a Uni-pivot design TP 82 Tonearm and Thorens own TAS 257 cartridge. Couple all this with electronic speed control, adjustable belt tension, and a low noise, low voltage electronically controlled DC motor and you can see why this turntable is well and truly in the running at the price point.
If you would like to read the What Hi Fi Review of the Thorens TD-203, You can do so by clicking here