Thorens Disc Contact Owners manual

disc-contact Vacuum Record Clamp

The disc-contact vacuum record clamp consists of:

- a special disc-contact-mat (T)

- a sealing disc @

- a vacuum puck (3)

- a vacuum pump with connecting tube and coupling (4)

Included as accessories are a clamp (5) for holding the
tube when not in use and self-adhesive sealing foil @ for
damaged record labels.

By employing reduced air pressure, the clamp presses the
record firmly onto the turntable mat. Distortion and tonal
colorations are thereby effectively prevented, especially
with thin or warped records.

The advantage of the technique employed is that the
platter bearing and spindle are not subjected to reduced
air pressure during record play. Therefore, vacuum seals
which could impair rumble and wow-and -flutter perfor­mance are not required.

Installation of the disc-contact Mat on THORENS Turn­tables (except TD 104/105 and TD 524)

To permit the rubber drive belt to be exchanged as
required, the disc-contact mat is bonded only to the outer
turntable platter.

1. Remove the standard turntable mat from the
turntable platter. Clean the surface of the
ou te r pl a t te r w it h dena tured alcohol.

2 . Press the sealing disc with the flat side facing

upwards onto the turntable spindle. Clean the
surface of the disc with denatured alcohol.

3. Peel off the inner protective paper ring from the
undersid e of t h e disc-contact mat to expose
the a d h e s i v e surface. Position the middle hole
over the turntable spindle and press the center of
the mat lightly onto the sealing disc.

4. Lift one side of the disc-contact mat from the rim
of the turntable platter and peel off the half of the
oute r paper ring undernea th. Press and stroke
this section of the mat out war ds to bond it to
the platter without trapping air pockets in­between (Figure 2).

5 . Peel off the second half of the outer ring from the

other side of the mat and bond this section to the
platter in the same manner as in step 4.

Installation of the disc-contact Mat on TD 104/105 and
Other Turntables

The disc-contact vacuum record clamp may be u sed not
only on THORENS turntables but also on many other units.
It is necessary only that the surface of the turntable be
completely flat between the rim and the spindle when the
rubber mat is removed. (Holes and grooves in the platter
are permissible.)

1. Remove the mat fro m the turn table platter and clean t he
entire surface of the platter with denatured alcohol.

2. Peel off the two inner protective rings (for the TD
104/105, only the innermost ring) from the underside of
the disc-contact mat to expose the adhesive surface.

3. Holding the mat at the outer edge, position the middle
hole over the turntable spindle and press the center of
the mat onto the middle of the platter (Figure 3). Press
and stroke the mat outwards to bo nd it to th e platter
without trapping air pockets in-between.

4. Lift one side of the disc-contact mat from the rim of the
turntable platter and peel off the half of the paper ring
underneath.

Press and stroke this section of the mat outwards,
taking care not to stretch it.

5. Repeat step 4 for the other ha lf of th e mat.

Installation and Connection of the Vacuum Pump

The pump should be installed near the turntable so that the
vacuum puck at the middle of the platter may be easily
reached with the vacuum tube. A location to the left of the
turntable is the most suitable, since the tube will not
interfere with the tone arm.

After the pump has been connected to the electrical mains,
the disc-contact is ready for use.

In order to mount the holding clamp for the vacuum tube
and coupling, peel off the protective foil and press the
clamp onto either the (left-hand) side of the turntable base
or another easily accessible location.

WARNING!
To prevent fire or shock hazard,

do not expose this appliance to
rain or moisture.

Operating the disc-contact

After laying a record onto the turntable, position the
vacuum puck at the center of the record and push down
over the spindle. Turn on the vacuum pump with th e powe r
cord switch.

Press the vacuum coupling over the ru bber seal on th e top
of the puck (Figure 4).
The air will be pumped out from between the disc-contact
mat and the record. This process takes about 15 seconds
and is completed when the sound of the pump changes
noticeably.

Switch off the pump, disconnect the vacuum coupling, and
snap the vacuum tube into the holding clamp.

After record play has been completed, pull up the valve pin
at the center of the vacuum puck. This releases the
vacuum, enabling the puck and record to be removed
normally.

Special Instructions

Always keep the disc-contact mat, particularly the sealing
lip at the rim, free from dust and dirt .

The sealing ring of the vacuum puck should likewise be
kept clean.

If the record fits too tightly ar ound the t urnt able sp indle , the
air between the record and the disc-contact mat cannot be
pumped out. To alleviate this problem, cut a small groove
into the side of the record hole with a small scissors blade,
a file, or other suitable tool.

If the label of a record is damaged, the self-adhesive
sealing foil provided may be pulled a way and pre ssed on to
the label. Additional precut sealing foil may be ordered
from your THORENS dealer or directly from THORENS
under the catalog number 4 277 002.

THORENS Factory Warranty

We warrant that we shall replace free of charge every defective part of this unit or repair it free of charge in our
factory in one of our authorized service stations should a defect occur within the period of warranty. The warranty
period is one year from the date of the original purchase.

The above warranty is valid only if the enclosed warranty card, duly filled out, be returned within 10 days after
purchase to the THORENS General Representative in your country; his address will be provided by your dealer.

Should a defect appear within the warranty period, please contact your THORENS General Representative,
describing completely the defective operation and quoting the Mode l and Seri al Number of y our unit. Defe ctive part s
which are user replaceable will be sent to you by mail. Otherwise you will be given th e ad dress of the service st ation
nearest you or be reque sted to ship the u nit d irectly to t he rep resen tat ive.

In the latter case, please pack the unit usin g the original pack ing ma teria ls. Shipping costs must be prepaid.
Any damage caused by failure to observe the instructions contained in this manual as well as damages incurred in

transport or shipping are not covered by this warranty.
This warranty will be invalidated b y repair s or modi fications made by anyone ot her than THO RENS aut horized s ervice

personne l. NB: Please observe possible complementary warranty conditions issued by our authorized general
representatives.

Schweiz:
THORENS-FRANZ AG, Hardstrasse 41, CH-5430 Wettingen
Telefon [phone], Telex 53682

Deutschland:

THORENS/Geratewerk Lahr GmbH, D-7630 Lahr, Postfach 1560

Telefon [phone], Telex 0754946

Printed in West Germany · Verlag Technische Dokumentation Lahr GmbH & Co. KG · Druck Ugi Lahr · 8307