The
DUAL 701 was DUAL's first direct drive table - built in the mid-70's. It is an evolutionary advance on the 1200-series of idler machines produced earlier in that decade, and looks much the same (right down to the stock plinth and dust cover).
It is fully automatic...flip and switch and the tonearm moves to the right spot at the start. Upon the side ending, the arm goes back to rest and the motor shuts off. Fully auto and smooth as butter in operation.
The EDS1000 motor is
glorious Germanic overkill. Made just prior to quartz locking....the motor employs Hall Effect sensors for fine speed stability. The motor is so good that owners of dead Goldmund tables buy this deck up to use the motor (as it's a near perfect fit for the uber-expensive Goldmund).
This particular unit is as-good-as or better-than new in operation only
6 months ago. It was bought from Bill @ FixMyDUAL:
www.fixmydual.comIt is
fully refurbed to spec. On Bill's recommendation, I bought the upgraded (real) walnut plinth (Bill is a wood worker by day, so his work is quite polished). I cannot comment on the sonic betterment from the new surround....Bill assured me it helps.
I bought a new/NOS cartridge carrier and have a NOS
ADC TRX-1 cartridge on it now. The cartridge is included at this price...or you can take $50 off ($425) if you have a cartridge readily at hand. It is mounted, balanced and works well with this arm. The cartridge is the last series from ADC...made in Japan to ADC specs and extremely well made. I found the initial brightness to fade after 50 hours (I'd estimate 100 hours on it now). It has a sapphire cantilever and long life stylus and cost $175 in 1985 new. Original packaging and paperwork to ship with the cartridge.
The table will not make you sell your $2000+ uber-table....but, if all you have been listening to is inexpensive belt drive you will get a taste of the near perfect speed stability that direct drive brings. As well, this DUAL has a broad soundstage and nice mids...that I can only attribute to the (unusual) spring suspension. It is more or less impervious to feedback this way - really important with turntables.
I only listened to this for a few days upon receipt in mid-2008, but listened more intently the past week to make sure it all works as described. It does, and more. As well, I have applied (
EAR Specialty Composites) constrained layer damping to the underside (and 1lb of plast-i-clay to the surround inner, but you cannot see it unless you take to strain and see it)...and constrained layer dots to the tonearm. The underside damping did little at all...but the dots on the tonearm were a revelation. It takes a reasonably good arm and improves it a lot...dramatically in many ways. You are free to remove them, but I took hours getting it j-u-u-ust right. Any of you that know me know I go to considerable lengths to maximize my tables sonics.
A copy of the original manual goes with it and it will ship in 2 boxes (1 for the table and 1 for the plastic dust cover) to make sure they arrive safely.
Pictures to come...here is some more information on the table in the meantime:
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/dual/701.shtmlhttp://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63045.0http://www.audioreview.com/cat/analog-sources/turntables/dual/701/PRD_121311_1597crx.aspxMy price includes shipping (2 boxes) to anywhere in the conti-US. If you want to pick it up, I'm in southern Marin Country, CA - take $50 off for pickup.
So......US$475.00 delivered (including PayPal) to your door. Or, $425 if you don't need the cartridge. Then, $375 if you are local and want to pick it up (sans cartridge). btw, I own 5 turntables today including this one...and need to thin the herd. That's my reason for selling.
Thanks, John