Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Even before the arrival of Hi-Fi News magazine in 1956, direct-drive turntables were already on the market, typically for studio use and often fitted with a copper disc induction motor. These motors were not synchronised to AC mains frequencies and so speed was brought down, again typically to 78rpm, via a centrifugal governor. Designed and built in the Swiss town of St. Croix, Thorens’ E53N PA ‘precision turntable’ not only offered all three speeds (33.3, 45 and 78rpm) but was launched in 1953, some 25 years after this innovative transcription brand had patented the first direct-drive system.

The E53 employed a low-torque, synchronous AC induction motor with a voltage commutator set at the factory for best results with a 110V/60Hz supply. Instructions for adjusting the motor speed for use with 50Hz supplies were included with the deck, along with four ‘special springs’ to ‘prevent acoustic feedback and to damp extraneous vibrations’. In practice, while fully automatic versions were offered by Thorens, the purist E53N PA was strictly a ‘motor unit’ that included a platter but no arm or turntable chassis. It was designed to drop into a radio broadcast desk or custom plinth fabricated by enterprising hi-fi enthusiasts of the day. We can only wonder – what would those early audiophiles have made of the TD 404 DD? PM