Thorens 145-C

Name: Thorens 145-C
Brand: Thorens

The Thorens 145-C was usually written TD-145C in the period press. It was a semi-automatic turntable positioned as a TD 125 Mk II without the variable speed control. High Fidelity (January 1976, p.85) described it as an automated single-play, two-speed (33 and 45 rpm) turntable with integrated tonearm, wood base, and dust cover. The motor was a 16-pole synchronous design, coupled by belt to the pulley beneath the platter. Thorens specified a 1½-second run-up to speed. High Fidelity measured very low rumble at -59 dB.

The lab results in Audio (March 1976, p.60) were especially good. Flutter was 0.05% (DIN 45507) and rumble was -65 dB (RRLL weighting), among the lowest figures that magazine had yet encountered. The stylus-force dial proved accurate within about 5%. Arm resonance with a Shure cartridge measured 8 Hz with only a 3.5 dB rise. The same review found the cue lift easy and smooth. The sole complaint was that the arm did not return fully to its rest position at the end of play, which the reviewer called minor and something you got used to.

The automation set this model apart. Thorens's own advertising in Audio (July 1975, p.15) claimed it was the world's only turntable with electronic sensing for automatic tonearm lift-up and shutoff. The same ad cited a dynamically balanced, seven-pound, 12-inch non-magnetic die-cast platter and a split-level suspension meant to reduce rumble, acoustic feedback, and vibration. Ads into mid-1976 leaned on the firm's Swiss heritage, noting Herman Thorens had begun building music boxes in St. Croix in 1883.

Documentation beyond the reviews above is thin. No production years, original price, or long-term market history appear in the available record. The magazine coverage places the model on sale from about mid-1975 into 1976.