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).