First of all, the Dual turntable is not the best of the bunch offered out there.
What it is is a good journeyman's turntable that is well built, attractively styled and easy to operate.
Also, I am aware that ther are others out there who are very well versed in their knowledge of Dual turntables and will not agree with my comments. That's fine!
That said, I've been in "under the hood" of just about every Dual made, from the 10XX series on up to and including the CS-5000.
Let's start paring down the list. First to go is any Dual made from later than 1976. The quality really started going down.
Dual was forced to cut prices in order to compete with the Pioneer tables.
While the cheaper Pioneer tables (like the PL-12-D) looked great,
they were not the quality of the Duals - no matter - the mass marketers put boxes and boxes of them by the front door for $99.00, and they shot out the door.
Dual introduced tons of plastic parts, belt drive units and light duty motors.
Also, I feel that the ULM arm mated with the Ortofon cart. with no options was a killer.
A good set up to be sure, but not optimal. I hate to say it, but the CS-5000 falls into this group as well.
It was Dual's last effort to try to re-invent itself as a high end turntable maker.
Didn't work, as CD's coming on line didn't help either. The CS-5000 has quite a few plastic parts that can fail, killing it.
The 704 and 721 have an adjustable height tonearm. The cam gear that controls the height is plastic and prone to breaking.
If that happens, they are done. The 714Q and 731Q tables are actually quite nice, but heavily dependent on electronics.
I have one of each (actually, I have 1 of all of the tables I reference) currently set up and am quite happy with them.
The soleniod operated controls remind me of the power door locks on a 1977 Buick.
10XX series - gone, too. Wonderful build quality. the 1009SK and the 1019 stand out here.
The 1015 sucks. Horrible tonearm counterbalance assembly. I do not like that auto set down speed is so fast.
And, I just don't like the look of a 12" LP on a 10.5" platter.
So here we are - focusing on the Duals made from 1970 to 1976.
The smaller chassis Duals (1214, 1215-S, 1216) suffer from the same problems identified in the 10XX tables.
The 1218 was MUCH better. Gimbal mounted tonearm and a nice slow descent in auto start mode.
Dual's second biggest seller with 875,000 units made.
Don't like the 1225, 1226, 1228. The mounting bosses for the tonearm bearings are PLASTIC, and fatigue with age.
The 601 and 1249 both have the SM-840 motor which, at 110V, has a motor pole fail and will spin at double speed.
The motor needs to be changed out the the SM-860 model.
The final contenders are: 1219, 1229, 1229Q and the 701. All excellent tables.
The 1229 and Q leave right away. I do not like the plastic control levers. If not properly serviced,
they can snap if forced - EASILY. The 1219 and 701 have cast metal control levers.
More on the 1219. The first run of them - up to S/N 141,000 were not good.
The cueing control would not work by design when stacking records (although I never do that).
Between S/N 141,000 and 425,000, these tables were GREAT. At the end of the run, from S/N 425,000 to 485,000, they switched to the plastic control levers.
The speed control lever is almost always snapped off.
701 wins. Between '73 and '76, they made a little more than 100,000 of these.
The direct drive motor is the best motor Dual ever made. But, you need to be careful here as well.
The early run (S/N less than 25,000) has a plastic guide that controls the cueing and speed control functions that can shear.
But, they came with a walnut veneered base that looked nice. Later ones came with a simulated walnut vinyl veneer, but had spring loaded dust cover.
I've had the best luck with real late production run models - those made in 1976, with S/N above 97,000. I now have two of these and pared with a V-15 III,
the sound is outstanding.
What it is is a good journeyman's turntable that is well built, attractively styled and easy to operate.
Also, I am aware that ther are others out there who are very well versed in their knowledge of Dual turntables and will not agree with my comments. That's fine!
That said, I've been in "under the hood" of just about every Dual made, from the 10XX series on up to and including the CS-5000.
Let's start paring down the list. First to go is any Dual made from later than 1976. The quality really started going down.
Dual was forced to cut prices in order to compete with the Pioneer tables.
While the cheaper Pioneer tables (like the PL-12-D) looked great,
they were not the quality of the Duals - no matter - the mass marketers put boxes and boxes of them by the front door for $99.00, and they shot out the door.
Dual introduced tons of plastic parts, belt drive units and light duty motors.
Also, I feel that the ULM arm mated with the Ortofon cart. with no options was a killer.
A good set up to be sure, but not optimal. I hate to say it, but the CS-5000 falls into this group as well.
It was Dual's last effort to try to re-invent itself as a high end turntable maker.
Didn't work, as CD's coming on line didn't help either. The CS-5000 has quite a few plastic parts that can fail, killing it.
The 704 and 721 have an adjustable height tonearm. The cam gear that controls the height is plastic and prone to breaking.
If that happens, they are done. The 714Q and 731Q tables are actually quite nice, but heavily dependent on electronics.
I have one of each (actually, I have 1 of all of the tables I reference) currently set up and am quite happy with them.
The soleniod operated controls remind me of the power door locks on a 1977 Buick.
10XX series - gone, too. Wonderful build quality. the 1009SK and the 1019 stand out here.
The 1015 sucks. Horrible tonearm counterbalance assembly. I do not like that auto set down speed is so fast.
And, I just don't like the look of a 12" LP on a 10.5" platter.
So here we are - focusing on the Duals made from 1970 to 1976.
The smaller chassis Duals (1214, 1215-S, 1216) suffer from the same problems identified in the 10XX tables.
The 1218 was MUCH better. Gimbal mounted tonearm and a nice slow descent in auto start mode.
Dual's second biggest seller with 875,000 units made.
Don't like the 1225, 1226, 1228. The mounting bosses for the tonearm bearings are PLASTIC, and fatigue with age.
The 601 and 1249 both have the SM-840 motor which, at 110V, has a motor pole fail and will spin at double speed.
The motor needs to be changed out the the SM-860 model.
The final contenders are: 1219, 1229, 1229Q and the 701. All excellent tables.
The 1229 and Q leave right away. I do not like the plastic control levers. If not properly serviced,
they can snap if forced - EASILY. The 1219 and 701 have cast metal control levers.
More on the 1219. The first run of them - up to S/N 141,000 were not good.
The cueing control would not work by design when stacking records (although I never do that).
Between S/N 141,000 and 425,000, these tables were GREAT. At the end of the run, from S/N 425,000 to 485,000, they switched to the plastic control levers.
The speed control lever is almost always snapped off.
701 wins. Between '73 and '76, they made a little more than 100,000 of these.
The direct drive motor is the best motor Dual ever made. But, you need to be careful here as well.
The early run (S/N less than 25,000) has a plastic guide that controls the cueing and speed control functions that can shear.
But, they came with a walnut veneered base that looked nice. Later ones came with a simulated walnut vinyl veneer, but had spring loaded dust cover.
I've had the best luck with real late production run models - those made in 1976, with S/N above 97,000. I now have two of these and pared with a V-15 III,
the sound is outstanding.
