Thorens - Stabilizer Chrome Record Weight

A chrome record weight that presses a record flat against the mat and adds mass to the platter — two useful things and one caveat worth reading before you put it on a sprung Thorens.

A record weight does two jobs at once. It couples the disc to the platter mat, so a slightly dished or warped pressing sits flat and the stylus stops riding up and down through a vertical excursion that has nothing to do with the music. And it adds mass at the centre of rotation, which very slightly increases the platter’s inertia and damps its resonance.

The caveat is about suspension. On a turntable with a sprung sub-chassis — which describes the TD 1500, TD 1600 and TD 1601 — adding half a kilogram to the platter changes the load the springs are carrying, and the suspension may need re-levelling for the deck to sit correctly again. It is not a reason to avoid a weight, but it is a reason to check the suspension afterwards rather than assume nothing moved. There is also a general principle worth knowing: any turntable whose bearing was designed around a particular platter mass is being asked to do slightly more when you add to it. Thorens publishes no warning of their own on either point, and we are giving you our own advice rather than pretending it is theirs.

On the specification, we have to be plain: Thorens does not publish one. Their accessories pages either return errors or do not carry this item as a spec'd product. The mass of 0.55kg and the 69 x 28mm dimensions below come from a UK retailer, not from Thorens, and the base metal under the chrome is not stated by anyone. If exact figures matter to you, ask and we will weigh and measure the one in stock.

Features

• Presses slightly dished or warped records flat against the mat
• Adds mass at the centre of rotation, damping platter resonance
• Chrome finish
• Fits a standard centre spindle

Specifications

• Type: Record weight / stabiliser
• Mass: 0.55kg (1.21 lb) per a UK retailer listing. Thorens publishes no figure of their own. We are happy to weigh the unit in stock if the exact number matters
• Material: Chrome finish. The base metal beneath the plating is not stated by Thorens or by any retailer we found
• Dimensions: 69.0 x 28.0 mm per the same retailer listing. Thorens publishes nothing
• Fitment: A standard centre spindle. The retailer listing states it fits most Thorens and other turntables with a standard spindle; Thorens publishes no model-by-model compatibility list
• A note on sprung turntables: Adding weight to the platter of a suspended sub-chassis turntable — the TD 1500, TD 1600 and TD 1601 — changes the load on the springs, and the suspension may need re-levelling afterwards. This is our advice, not a Thorens warning: Thorens publishes no caution on the subject at all
• A note on the published data: Thorens hosts no working product or specification page for this accessory that we could reach. Every figure above is third-party retailer data and is labelled as such
• 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.