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Thorens is a formerly
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
manufacturer of
high-end audio High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audiophiles on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. The term can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the ...
equipment. Thorens is historically renowned for the range of
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
s (turntables) the manufacturer produces. In addition to audio playback equipment, Thorens is also a historical manufacturer of
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
s and has been separately a producer of Swiss-made
cigarette lighters A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
, most notably the button actuated "automatic lighter".


History

In 1883, the Thorens family business was first registered in Sainte-Croix (Ste-Croix), Vaud, Switzerland by Hermann Thorens. An initial producer of musical boxes and
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
movements (which they were still producing in the 1950s), they started producing Edison-type
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
s in 1903. In 1928, they produced their first
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
(motor-drive) record player, and went on to produce a range of
audiophile An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...
record players in the 1950s and 1960s which are, even today, regarded as
high-end audio High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audiophiles on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. The term can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the ...
equipment, and are much sought-after, for example, the belt-driven and sub-chassis suspended TD 150 which was presented 1965. Its principle is also found in the
Linn Sondek LP12 The Linn Sondek LP12 (often shortened to Sondek or LP12) is a transcription phonograph, turntableGreenberg, Corey (1 December 1993)"Linn Sondek LP12 turntable & Klyde phono cartridge". ''Stereophile'' produced by Glasgow-based Linn Products, ma ...
. Its successor TD 160 appeared in 1972 and was built nearly without discontinuity for 20 years. With the TD 320 Thorens presented in 1984 changed the springs of the sub-chassis to laminated springs. Although Thorens embarked on a cost-reduction effort in 1997, the company became insolvent in 1999. A new Suisse Thorens Export Company AG took over the assets and continued trading. The owner of the rights to the name was Heinz Rohrer. From 1999 the less expensive TD 190/170, later the TD 190/170-1, without sub-chassis was offered, its design is similar to the more expensive Thorens-players. First 2004 Thorens presented a mass drive player the TD 850. 2012 Thorens got the EISA Award "best product 2011 / 2012" for the TD 309, a sub-chassis player with a three-point-suspension and a turntable made of glass.connect.de 31 August 2010, Plattenspieler Thorens TD 309 + TP 92
(German), retrieved 10 May 2020. In May 2018 Gunter Kürten, who had been manager at
Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...
- and
Elac ELAC is a German loudspeaker manufacturer. It was founded in 1926 as 'Electroacustic GmbH'. During World War II, it built electroacoustic devices for the Kriegsmarine and other nautical applications, and the company reached a peak of 5,000 sta ...
, became CEO and relocated operations to Germany. As of 2019, Thorens continues to produce well-regarded turntables for the playback of vinyl and 78rpm
gramophone records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
.


Gallery of record players

CIMA mg 8371.jpg, Thorens pladespiller
CIMA museum (Centre International de la Mécanique d'Art) Thorens TD124 MkI SME3009 SII (14064040846).jpg, Thorens TD 124 (1957-1965) Thorens TD125 MkII + Mayware Formula IV + Signet Mk 111 (9590917310).jpg, Thorens TD 125 Mk II (1972-1975) Thorens TD 160 (3061166490).jpg, Thorens TD 160 (1972-1976) Thorens TD126mkiii (10297375545crop).jpg, Thorens TD 126 Mk III (1979-1986)


See also

*
List of phonograph manufacturers This is a list of phonograph manufacturers. The phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone, record player or turntable, is a device introduced in 1877 for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound. Phonograph manufacturer ...


External links


Official website



The Thorens 'Excelda' portable gramophone: 360° rotatable view of a machine held at the British Library


References

{{Authority control Phonograph manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1883 Audio equipment manufacturers of Germany Audio equipment manufacturers of Switzerland Swiss brands