FixMyDual.com experiences?*

Hey everyone,

A friend of mine wants to buy a Dual, he doesn't have internet, so I'm posting for him.
Has anyone used this service or bought a Dual from them. Please give me your opinions.

Thanks a lot !

 

You mean- used the internet to fix a Dual?? I think the answer is 'yes'.

Which model?

 

I mean my friend does not have internet, so I was asking about the quality of
fixmydual's service and the turntables he sells.

 

For the inititiated: FixMyDual

I bought a 701 from Bill and use it in my vintage system. He was a pleasure to deal with and the turntable is both beautiful and functional. I’ve used it pretty much daily for four years without a problem. Sounds great too with the Shure v15 cart he can provide you. I never tire of the auto shutoff.

 

That's the table my friend is wanting to buy. I emailed Bill about having one in stock and
he said he did, but was out of town until later in the month. If you don't mind me asking,
Ulises, how much did pay for your table-Thanks

 

I've bought from him, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

 

Man...it was years ago. Want to say it was $750 for the whole deal with a cart. I love the table.

 

I've bought three Dual turntables from Bill over the years. My 701, 1229Q, and 1019 are all operating just fine.

 

I'm just baffled somebody wouldn't have internet access in this day and age. Curious to know how old this friend is.

As for the turntable, they sure look purdy!

 

Duals are nice but Thorens are better.

 

My friend is in his late 40's ,but he's kind of non conformist. He barely has a phone,
a land line. But he does like his music, he's got quite a system, but it's only set up for
compact disc. But he does have a lot of records he inherited from his sister and wants
to get back into vinyl. I suggested either a Thorens or Dual. I've looked at the Vinyl nirvana site.
What Thorens would you recommend ?

Thanks

 

When you buy from Bill you know exactly what you're getting. His turntables are packed to arrive safely and a minimum amount of setup is required. Practically plug in and play.

 

Hey ssmith3046, I see from profile you are a big Dual fan, I have read how great the 701 is ,
the return email I got from Bill, he said the 701 was his favorite table. That to me says a lot
considering how many dual's he has come in contact with. Would you say the 701 is
your favorite deck, of the ones you have ?

 

Never used fixmydual but I have a 1019 and it kills. Super lively. Ebulient playback. And having an auto turntable in your rig is a great thing.

 

I haven't bought one from them, came close a time or two. I have heard nothing but good things and wouldn't hesitate to use them on reputation alone.

 

I'm honestly dreading the day my Dual finally gives up the ghost and I (most likely) have to buy a non-automatic turntable to replace it. I've never used FixMyDual but I have a Dual that my dad gave me in the 80s and I wouldn't get rid of it for anything. I suppose I could send it to FMD for refurbishing/upgrading if it ever becomes unusable (the motor has slowed down a tiny bit and the tech at a local store said that they typically have eventual problems with tarnish on the little "tongues" that connect the cartridge holder to the tonearm).

 

I'm willing to bet you can find a tech with experience w/Duals if you looked high and low. I found my last two by asking the DJs at the local public radio station for reccomendations. Luckily, I have a great local tech and he knows them well.

As far as the headshells go, there are some preemptive steps you can take to keep them working as best as you can until they give up the ghost. But there are also replacements available as well as workarounds for that problem.

 

At the risk of highjacking this thread, I did take it to a local tech. He said that when the motors start to go, there's nothing you can do except replace them. So basically I'd have to buy another Dual and hope its motor was in better shape than mine (or look for someone just selling a motor). Presumably the guy at FixMyDual could hook me up, but it's all a little more trouble than I want to go through right now for a problem that's barely audible. For now, I'm just going to let it go; if and when the speed problem with the motor worsens in the future, I'll decide whether I want to try to replace the motor or just get a whole new table.

 

If I could only keep one it would be the 701.

 

Never even seen the Dual 701.

I have a couple of Dual 1219's, both with sure carts. With Dual, you do have the option of full automatic mode if you please and at the very least, the semi-automatic mode will lift the arm of the platter at the end of the record, which I feel is an excellent feature to have. Sometimes I don't feel like getting up right away and it's nice not to hear the sound that the stylus makes while playing in the dead wax over and over again.

The Dual does give you (with a vintage cartridge like a Shure), more of a vintage period sound, that doesn't have the details of a higher end table. My Dual's are both in need of service for various reasons, so it might by my time to FixMyDual.

My main vintage deck is a VN Torens TD-160 Super, Midnight Edition. If you are looking for a perfect, high quality (below a Lynn and Lynn's prices), the Thoren's is the one to look to. The thing is, a restored VN TT is easily 3-4 times more costly as a vintage Dual, which are fairly common.

But a VN Dual is fully custom restored and upgraded, with a custom solid wood plith and custom made heavy plastic cover. My TD-160S has a Rega/Moth RB-202 tone arm, rewired with Cardas cable. I'm using a Ortofon 2M bronze/Black cartridge, which I would hesitate to put on the Dual. Maybe the Bronze? But definitely not the black.



The Dual's are nice vintage period TT's and would work nicely for most people.

The VN restored and and upgraded TT's are manual (though they do have automatic models) more into audiophile territory.

 

My experience, too.

 

On my 701 I use a Shure V-15 III DU cartridge. I like to switch out the stylus using either a Jico SAS or HE. The SAS brings out an amazing amount of detail in any record played. The HE is something of a cross between the SAS and Jico elliptical. I use a V-15 III DU on my 1229Q also but use the Jico elliptical because I've found the elliptical stylus that Jico makes about as close to sounding like a original Shure as you can find. The 1019 uses a Shure V-15 II with a Jico elliptical all plugged into a restored Harman Kardon A500 tube integrated amp. I rotate speakers on that system between New Large Advent speakers and KLH model 5 speakers. That's the setup where I get the vintage sound.

 

I work with a lady in her 30's, a really terrific gal that doesn't have internet, no cell phone or TV. She's a devout Buddhist, spends most of her free time reading and taking care of her mother. She's still a virgin and quite the looker I might add. Work is so much more tolerable having this person to hang out with on breaks. Truly one of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure to know.

 

ghostworldpic18 — Postimage.org

 

I would put the 701 arguably as King of Dual tied with the 1229 and 1019. Those 3 Duals are all time best Duals. Second best Duals, 1009 and 1218.