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Thorens CEO Heinz Rohrer had been holding out on me. But I caught him in flagranti and for penance, he spilled the beans now. Actually, those privy to the news of Thorens' new flagship vinyl deck were simply those chosen for a private demonstration in Dresden prior to the Munich HighEnd show. Rohrer is a classy guy. Here's them beans now:


To celebrate the company's 125th anniversary, the Jubilee is "a turntable without limits, the best 58 kg the company has to offer to indulge in the ultimate sub-chassis/mass turntable. Although potential aficionados will have to wait a bit while starting to save already, the Jubilee will be launched in late summer this year and come with a price tag of about € 35,000. Such a manufacturer's mandate is given only once every other century. Thorens has been demanding from its R&D people to achieve the 'turntable without limits' irrespective of any technical limitations or concessions to pricing. The team was simply requested to put the best virtues of a Thorens deck into practice. What has resulted is a turntable which is supposed to be a match with the world's most legendary record players - and it surely is. So, let's not waste our breath and rather have the facts and specs speak for themselves:


Universal, heavily dampened analogue turntable designed between subchassis and mass principles incorporating four independent 'levels of operation'
Two independent, exchangeable tonearm platforms whereby the range of usable tonearms is practically unlimited
Fine-adjustment of HTA ( ± 2 angular degrees, ca. 3 kg per platform without tonearm)
Tonearm TP 125 with 10 or 12 inches
Optional non-Thorens tonearms from 9 to 12 inches
Selectable output sockets: RCA or XLR
Split platter with internal belt drive
Outer platter (11.5 kg) has very low centre of gravity through layer construction and is 3-D-balanced in all three axes
Inner platter (1.9 kg) is filled with 200 grams of RDC and meticulously balanced (dynamically and statically)
Four individually adjustable unit feet with integrated new-generation RDC 6s compound
Drive system: Synchronous motor and precision flat belt
Speed control: electronically through external power supply
Speed: 33-1/3, 45 and 78 rpm
Dedicated turntable stand available as an option
Dimensions: Width: 600 mm / Depth: 500 mm / Height: appr. 150 mm without tonearms (depending on levelling) / with tonearms appr. 180 - 200 mm
Weight: 58 kg without tonearms
Price: about € 35,000


But there's more. I told you Rohrer is one classy guy: "A birthday groove instead of a birthday cake. To celebrate the company's anniversary, Thorens is producing an exclusive LP series, beginning with recordings of the Dresden Staatskapelle. Records are Thorens's profession and passion. To celebrate the company's anniversary, it is creating its own record label now. A double album of recordings of the Dresden Staatskapelle will appear this spring in music stores around the world. Each disc is made of 180 grams of heavy-duty vinyl. They are the first in a series that Thorens is producing together with the German label PROFIL, Edition Günter Hänssler.


"Thorens is indulging in this project as another element of its jubilee celebration. The company will be 125 years old in 2008. Yet that's no comparison to the Dresden Staatkapelle's 460 years of history and fame. It is a legendary orchestra with a legendary sound. Richard Wagner called it the "miracle harp" - an expression still used today, denoting an ideal experienced by the orchestra's over 100 members. For anyone who has not heard the orchestra live or wants more, the Thorens LPs are the doorway to a world of magical sounds. The first of the two albums is dedicated to the great conductors of recent
times: Sir Colin Davis directs "Lacrymosa" from Hector Berlioz's great Requiem, a powerful choral piece with extreme dynamics; and Bernard Haitink draws out the finest notes of the Staatskappelle's performance in Bruckner's 6th Symphony. The compilation also features the famous live recording of deceased conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli's last concert performing Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration.


"Thorens is particularly proud to present the second LP, dedicated in full to Dmitri Shostakovitch's 15th Symphony conducted by Kyrill Kondrashin, a recording made for the famous "desert island" and captured on purely analogue equipment. No groove in the world brings the listener a more graceful musical experience - and certainly no other medium. The Thorens double album appears under order number PH 08064 and can be found in all good music stores - as well as Amazon's regional webstores around the world."