Dual 1219

But you know, this is something that if you really want a dual turntable, which I don't blame you at all because they're really, really cool.

So I'm, I'm very happy with that. It's, it's going to give me a lot of enjoyment over the years. Okay

The sides are just about perfect, note no cracks anywhere.

Nice! I know a lot of audiophile types poo-poo automatic turntables, but the Dual mechanism is very well engineered. It is totally disengaged once the needle drops, so the sound quality is on par with a fully manual Dual turntable. I don't use the stacking spindle on my 1219 and 1249 very often, but it's nice to know the option is there.

The tonearm wires also needed to be replaced, which I did, as well as service the motor. It also needs a very good cleaning as it has layers of grime. The muting switch also needed a scrubbing due to the oxidation.

It's a great multi purpose design that is also pretty darn affordable. I was gifted a 1219 by a friend in the service and really enjoy it and get tons of use out of it.

Dual 1219 or 1229 is cheap around Europe, once its serviced it should last for a lifetime. Old Duals are eternal beasts.

I recently picked up a dual 1219 turntable at an estate sale along with a Sony TA-AX390 amplifier. I set it up once I got home (according to the user manual, using the phono channel and ground), with the turntable sitting directly on the amplifier, and it worked fine for a couple hours, but then the system began to make a low persistent humming sound. I did some research and found that the amplifier might be interfering with the turntable, so I put a box between the two but this didn't seem to help much. I can usually start playing a record just fine, but as it continues playing, the humming will build until the music is completely drowned out.

The Dual CS-518 appears to be a good piece of kit, and priced appropriately in today's money. But I wouldn't ditch my 1970-vintage Dual 1219 for one. It works like new, and very well indeed.

Old Duals are excellent turntables. The fully automatic ones are mechanically complex and often require TLC before using. Though once sorted, they work and sound great. I love my 1219, which was top of the range in 1970.