Thorens - MM 002 MM Phono Preamplifier

Thorens’ simple moving-magnet phono stage: 40dB fixed, 47kΩ and 220pF, nothing to set and nothing to get wrong. No longer listed by Thorens.

Start with the honest part. The MM 002 no longer appears anywhere in Thorens’ current catalogue — not in the phono preamplifier category, not in site navigation, and not on the part of their discontinued-products page we could read. It is still sold new by a number of retailers, ourselves included, but treat it as an outgoing model. The specifications below come from Thorens’ own owner’s manual, which we found on a third-party document host rather than on Thorens’ site, since no live copy could be located there.

What it does is the simplest thing a phono stage can do, done properly. Moving magnet only, 40dB of gain fixed, 47kΩ input impedance and 220pF of capacitance fixed. No switches. Those are the standard values essentially every moving-magnet cartridge is designed around, so for the very large number of people who own one moving-magnet cartridge and want a line-level signal out of it, there is nothing to configure and nothing to get wrong.

The measured performance is better than the price and the simplicity suggest: RIAA held to ±0.3dB, frequency response 10Hz to 50kHz at −3dB, distortion under 0.015%, signal-to-noise better than 86dB and crosstalk 40dB or better. A 5mV cartridge produces 498mV out, which is a healthy line level for any input.

There is no subsonic filter and no moving-coil setting. If you need either, look at the MM 008 ADC or the MC 1600.

Thorens does not publish the circuit topology, whether it is dual mono, or where it is made.

Features

• Moving magnet only, 40dB gain fixed
• Standard 47kΩ / 220pF moving-magnet loading, fixed
• No switches — nothing to configure
• RIAA accurate to ±0.3dB
• Signal-to-noise better than 86dB
• 498mV output from a 5mV cartridge
• External 24V DC supply keeps the transformer away from the phono circuit

Specifications

• Status: No longer listed on Thorens’ current site — not in the phono preamplifier category or site navigation. Treat as an outgoing model. Thorens has not published an explicit discontinuation notice we could find, so we are describing what we observed rather than asserting a status
• Source of these figures: Thorens’ own owner’s manual for the MM 002, located on a third-party document host because no live copy could be found on thorens.com. The content is Thorens-authored
• Type: Moving-magnet phono preamplifier
• Cartridge support: Moving magnet only. No moving-coil capability and no cartridge-type switch
• Gain: 40dB at 1kHz, fixed
• Input impedance: 47kΩ, fixed
• Input capacitance: 220pF, fixed
• Maximum output voltage: 498mV rms at 5mV rms input, 1kHz. Output impedance 47Ω
• Input sensitivity: 3.14mV rms for a −10dBV output (316mV rms)
• RIAA accuracy: ±0.3dB maximum
• Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz at −3dB
• Signal-to-noise ratio: Better than 86dB. Thorens does not publish the weighting
• THD+N: Less than 0.015%
• Crosstalk: 40dB or better
• Subsonic filter: Not published. No mention of presence, corner frequency, slope or switching appears in the manual
• Alternate EQ curves: None
• Circuit: Not published. Thorens states nothing about discrete versus op-amp topology, dual-mono construction or named parts
• Inputs and outputs: One pair RCA in, one pair RCA out. No XLR
• Power supply: External wall adapter, 24V DC / 630mA. Unit consumption 3.3W / 15mA
• Dimensions: 100 x 45 x 93 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight: 292g without the power supply
• Finishes: Not published by Thorens. Black and silver are both sold by retailers
• Country of manufacture: Not published. Thorens prints no country-of-manufacture statement for this product — only the company address in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, which is a registered office and not a factory.