Thorens TD280mkII Turntable

The vinyl LP may be in the throes of a terminal decline without much chance of a last-minute reprieve, but it isn't quite dead yet! There are still plenty of people wanting to add a decent turntable to their systems - if only to enjoy an existing record collection. With this in mind the recently revised Thorens TD280 Mkll could be just the ticket. Retailing at £190, it offers excellent sound quality, ease of use, and good value.

The TD280II boasts electronic speed change, unlike the manual speed change of most UK specialist belt-driven turntables. It also has automatic arm lift at the end of a record side. The arm itself is of good quality, and Audio-Technica's popular AT-95E cartridge is fitted as standard. A felt mat is supplied in place of the usual heavy rubber Thorens mat, and the deck's rubber decoupling feet provide acceptable isolation from external vibration.

Paul Hart's Concerto For Guitar and Jazz Orchestra showed the TD280II in an excellent light. With its wide-ranging brass, percussion, and delicate solo guitar, the Thorens reproduced the music with colour and range as well as some excellent deep bass. Eyes closed, I would have said I was listening to a far more expensive turntable, such was the focus and stability of the sound.

Rimsky Korsakov's Antar symphony had plenty of power and authority, though sometimes in heavily-scored passages a degree of congestion was apparent. It didn't sound like mistracking distortion, more a slight roughening and blurring as the music grew louder and more complex.

Some of the blame for this slight lack of refinement lies with the AT-95E which, although lively and detailed, is inclined to sting at the top-end given half a chance. However, its sheer energy and exuberance are preferable to the blandness of something like an Ortofon OM-IO which lacks colour and dynamics. Anyway, the AT cartridge can always be upgraded at a later stage.

On Carly Simon's Greatest Hits Live, the Thorens/AT combination created a big enveloping soundstage, reproducing the music with plenty of pace and excitement. I particularly liked the way it kept the various voices and instruments nicely separated, and was impressed by its free-ranging bass which sounded full and quite solid, but not over-damped. Stereo imagery isn't quite as pin-point sharp as it can be with some very expensive turntables, but it was still good. Dynamics proved excellent.