Olympic games｜THORENS Reference vs New Reference

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Date: 2024-12-20

Thorens Reference versus Thorens New Reference – which analogue fan could resist the opportunity to make such a comparison? I certainly couldn't, so I gratefully accepted the invitation to the brand new Thorens listening room.

Feature: Thorens New Reference

References
So that's how it was: In 1980, Thorens, then one of the largest record player manufacturers in the world, presented its statement on top record players. The device called "Reference" was limited to a series of 100 units, weighed over 90 kilograms, could carry up to three tone arms and was pretty much the most powerful thing the world had ever seen in this respect. Things like a quartz-controlled three-phase motor that drives a six-and-a-half kilogram platter via a flat belt don't really entice anyone these days, but at the time that was the end of the line. The initial selling price was 18,000 DM, which seemed unbelievable in 1980, but today would probably be met with a shrug of the shoulders. Well-preserved examples of the device cost several times that today and are difficult to find; most of these precious items are kept warm and dry by well-heeled Asian collectors.

A few years ago, Thorens’ new owner Gunter Kürten decided to create his own “Reference” model.

This was by far the most photographed exhibit at the Munich High End two years ago and impressed with both its impressive physique and a whole range of high-tech features that should make the machine called "New Reference" the perfect record player. To all those involved, conducting a "real" test with a device costing around a quarter of a million euros only seemed to make limited sense, especially since transporting the New Reference to Duisburg would have caused some logistical problems. Thorens has now significantly expanded its premises in Bergisch Gladbach and now has a really nice listening room with two setups, perfectly functioning room acoustics and both an original Reference and the first real production model of the New Reference. The question of whether it could be plugged into one of the two systems for a direct comparison was answered in the affirmative - so off to Bergisch Gladbach.

Let's first talk a little about the New Reference, which is undoubtedly one of the most complex record player designs on the market. The concept was largely developed by industrial designer Helmut Thiele, who has been delighting the hi-fi world with exciting ideas for many years and is responsible for a large number of products in the new Thorens era.

One of its most impressive features is its integrated, fully active vibration isolation, which was implemented in collaboration with the company Seismion. Each foot of the New Reference contains powerful, high-precision actuators that hold the device firmly in place in space - in all three dimensions. Extremely precise sensors provide data on whether the machine is moving even the slightest, and the actuators in the feet immediately compensate for any movement. A small display on the device provides information on the system's activity on request. In principle, we are dealing with a sensitive seismometer that could also be used to detect light earthquakes.

The drive is where most of the parallels to the original Reference are. The new one also drives its heavy turntable with a belt, and the power here also comes from a three-phase synchronous motor. Controlling the unit, which is manufactured in Germany, is of course much more complex than in 1980, especially since the New Reference uses real speed control. For this purpose, a speed sensor on the platter spindle reports its speed to the electronics. The manufacturer's website explains very well how the drive and platter bearing work hand in hand to achieve the best synchronization values.

A heavy metal ring plays a central role, which is screwed securely to the chassis of the New Reference. It serves as a platform for mounting a maximum of three tonearms. In addition to extreme stability, this results in a large number of possible mounting locations, which makes the New Reference a very universal basis for all kinds of arms. At the time of our visit, the model in the Thorens listening room had two tangential tonearms (Thiele TA-01 and Reed 5T) and a twelve-inch Thorens TP-124 mounted. The Ortofon Verismo, which we used to make the comparison, also found its place under the headshell. A practically identical arm (only nine inches long) was also mounted on Gunter Kürten's really beautiful original Reference, so we only had to swap the headshell and replug the tonearm cables.

The rest of the chain was also no shortage of superlatives: The sound transducers were a pair of large Wilson Benesch transducers, driven by a Soulnote amplifier combination, whose qualities we have already been able to convince ourselves of. The phono preamplifier also came from Soulnote.

The first impressions of the chain were pretty amazing: the positioning of the musical events in the room works excellently, the large speakers hardly appear at all physically in the sound image. The system sounds tight and disciplined, in fact it sounds very high-end. Tonally balanced across the entire frequency range, no artifacts that can be blamed on the room acoustics - it's bearable. If you ever get the chance to listen to a few records on the sofa - take it.

First, we were able to see for ourselves the effect of the New Reference's active isolation. Interestingly, it is very noticeable in the bass in a way that I hadn't expected: with the active isolation switched off, the sound appears significantly thinner and more reserved. With the Seismion system switched on, the Ortofon Verismo delivers a volume and impact that I have definitely never heard from it before. The spatial imaging also changes: without active isolation, it sounds flatter, less deep, and the treble imaging also suffers noticeably. The point clearly goes to the extremely complex technology that isolates the record player from the rest of the world.

Then it was time to compare the two record players. We essentially did this with the now quite famous live recording of the British singer/songwriter Fink from London's Union Chapel. The New Reference sounded extremely impressive. Very lively, the sound breathed, the atmosphere was there, the reverberation was believable, goosebumps were guaranteed.

Bottom line...
Even if this is certainly not a really meaningful test: The sovereignty with which the Thorens New Reference demonstrates its sonic superiority leaves no doubt that it is one of the greats in its field.