Thorens TD 403 DD – New direct drive turntable

The Thorens 400 Series receives growth, namely with the new Thorens TD 403 DD, a plug & play direct-drive record player as Thorens GmbH notes. A special feature of this turntable is the newly developed Thorens TP 150 tonearm.

The new Thorens TD 403 DD not only expands the Thorens 400 Series, it also provides a turntable that is designed as a so-called Plug & Play record player with direct drive and is thus essentially ready to play as soon as it is unpacked by the customer.

This also includes the fact that you will not only find a completely newly developed Thorens TP 150 tonearm on the new Thorens TD 403 DD, but also that it is equipped with an Ortofon 2M Blue ex works.

Thorens TD 403 DD – Plug & Play

Thorens GmbH deliberately uses equipment for the new Thorens TD 403 DD that, as just described, more or less guarantees immediate use of the drive. There are only a few measures that the customer has to take to get started right after the purchase. This clearly addresses a target group that wants to rely on vinyl, but does not want to deal too intensively with the matter.

You could say it is a solution that is thus aimed at beginners, but on a thoroughly very high quality level.

Puristic, audiophile claim

It also fits that Thorens GmbH states that the new Thorens TD 403 DD pursues a puristic and at the same time audiophile claim and therefore designed a purely manual turntable without a limit stop. Likewise one did without an integrated phono preamplifier, relies in this regard thus on the fact that anyway amplifiers can come up more and more often with such an equipment feature.

Optically a real Thorens

The new Thorens TD 403 DD is optically a genuine Thorens, so the enterprise from Bergisch Gladbach. The same proven, smooth-running drive is used here as in the Thorens TD 402 DD, but the new model features a more massive platter that is 22 mm thick, weighs 1.4 kg and is made of cast aluminum.

Another significant difference to the little brother Thorens TD 402 DD is the tonearm, which is used in the new Thorens TD 403 DD.

Thorens TP 150

The tone arm of the new Thorens TD 403 DD carries the designation Thorens TP 150, whereby it concerns a model, which was again developed and here, at the same time with the likewise again presented turntable Thorens TD 1500, for the first time used comes.

The tonearm is similar to the tonearm on the Thorens TD 124 DD, that is, the Thorens TP 124, according to the manufacturer. The arm has an effective mass of 14 g, and is adjustable in height and azimuth.

The anti-skating is adjusted by a sliding weight in the base of the arm, which is adjusted on a nylon thread guided over a ruby bearing. Thorens GmbH is convinced that this guarantees the smoothest possible operation.

The contact force is adjusted in the classic manner via a two-part counterweight with the aid of a corresponding scale. The arm thus allows a wide selection of different pickup systems, whereby the range can extend from 6 to 30 g dead weight.

The simple upgrade supports the tonearm also by another interesting feature, namely a standard SME connector and a corresponding headshell, to which the actual cartridge is then mounted.

Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge ex works

As mentioned above, the new Thorens TD 403 DD is a plug-and-play turntable, which means that a cartridge system is already mounted on the tonearm at the factory. In this specific case, Thorens GmbH opted for an extremely fine system from the Danish specialist Ortofon A/S, namely from the so-called Ortofon 2M Series. Thus, the Thorens TD 403 DD comes with the Ortofon 2M Blue pre-installed, an extremely versatile MM cartridge that covers the upper end of the entry-level class, just like the entire turntable.

What else there is to say…

By the way, the motor on the new Thorens TD 403 DD is driven by an external 24 V DC power supply, this is mentioned here for the sake of completeness.

Control of the drive is via rotary switches directly on the top platter, with one acting as the main switch, and a second for selecting the speed between 33 1/3 and 45 rpm.

The new Thorens TD 403 DD features dimensions of 420 mm in width, 360 mm in depth, and 141 mm in height. This turntable is offered in both high-gloss walnut and high-gloss black finishes, with the top plate always made of brushed aluminum.

The scope of delivery of the new Thorens TD 403 DD includes a matching acrylic dust cover. Likewise a rubber mat indispensable with the aluminum plate of the Thorens TD 403 DD is to be found in the package, and also a Cinch cable may not be missing naturally.

The new Thorens TD 403 DD is to be found already these days for the recommended retail price of € 1,399, – in the specialized trade.

Getting to the point

Thorens GmbH describes the new Thorens TD 403 DD as a purist, directly driven record player, which, executed as a Plug & Play drive, must of course in principle be assigned to the entry-level class, but here should clearly mark the upper end. In the product world of Thorens GmbH, this means that the new Thorens TD 403 DD rounds off the Thorens 400 Series upwards.