CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

After a good year of looking at Craigslist off & on, I finally picked up a new (old) turntable. So I spent several hours this evening listening to cuts off a variety of my old albums.

It's a Dual 1219. Certainly not in the category of what Draganm or any of the other vinyl fanatics have, but I'm sure it will suit me just fine Wink

The dang thing is built like a tank and sure as heck doesn't look like it's 40 years old.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Sweet!!! Enjoy it !!!

Athanasios

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:19 am Post subject:

Congradulations!

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:05 am Post subject:

Sweet. My dad's old turntable is a Dual. He bought it brand new in the late-60's. I went looking to see if I could figure out if it was the same model, but none of them I found rung a bell.

SC

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:34 pm Post subject:

I had a 1225 for years when I first moved out of the house. I recorded 100s of LPs onto cassette, and when I play tapes, I can still tell which ones were recorded with the Dual, as the Dual had a muting switch that didn't kick out until the needle was on the record. It was an automatic, so I'd hit 'record' as the needle was coming down onto the record, and thus recorded a soft 'click' when the muting switch turned off.

THe 1219 is a nice unit, you'll love it.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Is it me, or is the 1225 on ePray for $69.95 Buy It Now seem ... deceptively cheap?

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:20 pm Post subject:

The only catch with the Duals is they are REALLY hard to fix if something goes wrong. We had one Dual expert in town, he used to charge $100-150, but he went through everything and the turntable was like new once he was done with it. That was back in the 80s when I worked at the TV shop.

I had a linear tracking Technics on CL 2 weeks ago for a week, and had one inquiry, and sold it for $40. (no it wasn't an audiophile one, just a mid 80s special where the tonearm was in the lid of the turntable).

I've got a couple of really nice Yamaha belt drives here with new belts (waiting on the belts) that I don't think I can get more than $60 for.

Also, shipping is a BITCH for turntables, I think you're better off buying locally off CL where you can touch and test the unit.

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

Yep, I looked on fleabay and even Audiogon, but for a turntable I really wanted something local.

The guy I picked this up from is an older tech geek (and a county sheriff) who plays with a lot of vintage electronics. I'm sure I could have picked up something for less, but I have a much higher comfort level with him than I would of with a lot of other people Thumbs Up

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:36 pm Post subject:

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Atlanta CL sucks. Its clutters as hell with people selling junk and using keywords so it shows up in search results that have nothing to do with what you are looking for. Very decentizing.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject:

What, you think any other CL has less morons than Atlanta? (wait there could be some truth to that.. <giggle>)

Same thing happens on all CLs. You get second hand dealers and others that think because they have something that's 20 years old, that it's 'vintage', and expect to get retail for it. Example:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/ele/2163840748.html

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

I agree that CL can be a pain in the ass, but you can still find a lot of good deals on it. I'll generally always look there before I bother with fleabay, especially if it is something I don't want to deal with shipping on.

ChrisWiggles · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:52 am Post subject:

ChrisWiggles · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:54 am Post subject:

Hrm, no it looks like you're right, they don't go for much more than $100 it looks like, at best, the 1400s anyway. thought they might have similar demand due to their similarity to 1200s, I guess not!

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:59 am Post subject:

Good god, no, it's nothing like the 1200. The $1200 is worth $400 in good shape, most DJs ask for $500 or so, and yes, well worth it. I know the 1400 and similar turntables, they are from the early 80s. Great tables, but not worth $180 in as is shape.

ChrisWiggles · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:08 am Post subject:

Yah, just visually at first it looked like the drive mechanism was a similar direct-drive to the 1200. But they made a lot of direct-drives that predated the 1200s that were alright but not worth anything anymore. I have one, in fact, some funky 70s automatic DD table with a straigh arm and a P-mount cartridge. I replaced that with my 1200 and haven't looked back! Thumbs Up

Maybe I can sell it to a sucker on Craigslist for $180... Laughing

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

OK, what cheap method do you guys use to clean your records. Most of mine have been boxed up and stored away for 20+ years.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:44 pm Post subject:

Wait, you're saying that $400 is unreasonable for a 1200? You do know that it's a DJ caliber model, which means nothing to audiophiles, but the 1200 has variable pitch control, a direct drive motor with plenty of torque for backcueing, etc.
Oh, and the thing weighs 25 lbs, has a massive base and good suspension (compared to their old 150/1500 DJ turntable) to absorb vibrations before they get transferred to the record and needle.

So I agree, you can do a lot better for $400 for a home stereo, but for a pretty bulletproof turntable, you really can't go wrong with the 1200, which is why Technics still makes it after27ish years.

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO