Should I go for a refurbished Dual 1229?

nice !

 

Start with a simpler Dual idler model, the 1215, and 1225 are superb to learn basic Dual maintenance on. I presently own a Dual 1010 and Dual 1019. The former was factory installed in my 1966 Fisher Custom Electra hybrid console.

 

Any suggestions for a cheap & cheerful cart? Bill said he'd install it on my 1229 if I have it shipped to him. I'm leaning towards an AT VM95ml to get it up and running, but would love some other ideas.

 

I’m a Pro-Ject RPM Carbon 10 turntable fan….I love it! Might have to get one some day if I can find a good price.

 

Bro..such a teaser you are…give us audio sluts a picture from the front! Love that red on the walls!

 

The 95ML is a great cart, but given what this turntable is, if it was me (which it isn't), I'd consider trying some flavor of the Jico J44 (their new 'interpretation' of the Shure M44), just for grins. J44 Cartridges – JICO

 

Cool -- I didn't know Jico made cartridges. My only reservation with those would be the spherical stylus. I've been considering a Shure V15 Type iii, though, as it seems to be the classic cartridge for the 1229.

 

That would be your bang for the buck cartridge. Otherwise, I'd try an LP Gear Vessel cartridge.

 

After some research I decided a VM540ML would be a better fit for the dual since it has higher compliance than the VM95ML.

I'll check out the Vessels -- thanks for the lead.

 

I love my Dual 1229! Found one in a thrift store years ago for next to nothing. The base was trashed and it was all seized up. Sent it off to Bill for the whole treatment, and its been my everyday turntable ever since. The base was custom made for me by a woodworking friend. I have a Thorens TD-145 as well and all around I prefer the Dual.
I use a Denon DL-160 cartridge with it. I think you are going to love this TT.

 

GREAT to hear!

The base is beautiful -- can you use the dustcover with it?

 

Bill installed an ORTOFON 2mBlue on both my and my cousin's Dual 1229's and we both LOVE them!!! It's a bit of a tricky cart to install on a Dual, but Bill handled the job perfectly. We both bought ours from Music Direct and had them sent to Bill for installation.

 

What distinguishes the 1229 from the 1219?

 

If you look closely at the top picture you’ll see a groove cut into the base right behind where the actual turntable ends. The dust cover which used to tilt up and down and has a slightly deeper back panel sits in that cut groove which allows it to sit straight. So yes.

 

You might want someone to check Bill's work when it arrives.
I have on a 1219 he sold a friend of mine ans it was one of the most neglected mechanisms I had ever worked on.

 

Glad to hear you pulled the trigger. Before you did I was going to mention that Dual prices have gone up a fair amount over the past several years. The vintage mkt has heated up. The posters who said sit on your hands and look for one cheaper aren’t factoring in what good techs charge to restore them now. And a 50 year old 1229 or 19 is going to need work.

I bought a restored 1219w/cover from a local shop about 2o years for $200 to use as a backup table.
It never got much use. Actually stored it for over 3 years. That wasn’t wise. Pulled it out to use in a 2nd system I was setting up and the arm mechanism was seized up. Took it into the same place recently with a different tech ( last one just retired but this guy is same age and knows his stuff on Duals). After a small maintenance bill its cool again. But he said it’s worth about 3x what I paid for it now or $600. And they sell them and consign too. ( Lesson ….don’t let em sit. They need to be run. The grease can seize up and mine needed a new steuerpimpel)

Yeah you can stumble on one in the wild cheaper. But how long does it take for that to happen? The folks who are working on these are a rare breed now unless you know how to do it. And they deserve what they charge IMO.

 

I see them regularly for sale in decent nick and I live in a pretty rural area. Some have had service over the years and it’s not too difficult to assess how much work they need just by going through the functions. As evidenced by the “install your own cartridge” thread, many of us prefer to learn and do the work ourselves so we don’t have to depend on a tech - as you said, we know how much they charge for it.

Nothing wrong with going for a fully sorted table if your budget and preference allows, but for those of us who are more inclined to get our satisfaction from turning a table into our own through a little research and elbow grease, we’re always going to pick that route and save money in the process.

 

I install/ mount my own carts. I don’t repair old Duals or other tables if it’s not apparently quick and easy. And I would wager most people aren’t into doing turntable repair. My time is worth more spent on other things. More power to ya if you get more satisfaction out of DIY.

 

This^

An idler-drive Dual is an extremely mechanical-centric device, as opposed to a platter, coupled to a motor with a belt. They absolutely hate sitting around. They were originally built in the Black Forest region of Germany, so the mechanism is strongly related to a clock mechanism. If you plan to DIY, you need to be able to see how it works in your head, before you take anything apart. And shoot lots of pics.

 

When choosing between AT carts, compliance is one of the main factors to consider. Good that you recognized that. Most people tend to go for what they think it will sound like, which is a mistake, I think.

It's easy to install and set up. The only thing I found is that it doesn't like a lot of anti-skate. That will make the tonearm oscillate. If you check my pics, you will see that I wrapped the tonearm in teflon tape, which somebody said will reduce some type of resonance. It's been on there so long, I don't know what it sounds like without it. But it can play anything without challenge and passed all my test record functions. The 540 plays CD quiet and tracks like a bloodhound.

 

I went with the AT VM540ML for the 1229. It's a high compliance cart and the 1229 arm is light so should be a good fit. I’ve never heard a vm540ml, but I use to have an AT 150mlx that I really enjoyed and I read that the vm540/740 sound similar to it. Assuming I like the sound, it will probably be the only cart I use on this table. I've never had a cartridge with a replaceable stylus so I'm looking forward to not having to align a new cartridge every time the stylus wears out.

 

Just saw this after posting the above -- great minds think alike!

 

I live in a Rural area also, and as mentioned I got mine from a yard sale for $10. It was in pretty good shape to start, but the grease, etc had essentially turned into bubble gum and it needed a few other fixes. It was actually kind of a lot of work, but I was able to sort it all out with a fair amount of research and lots of questions to folks who knew a thing or two.

I used to have a few lying around that I used for parts an practice, but don't have any of that stuff anymore. It was a phase I went through, lol.

 

There was a guy who did an extenseve shootout between the two (with measurements and graphs) and the outcome in that case was that he preferred the 540. That could have been a compliance thing as well.

 

I haven't taken any pics to upload in awhile, but this is the full system. I consider it a solid mid/hi-fi rig. These Alon IV speakers have beautiful mid-range and a massive soundstage. Once I installed the Bob Carver 275 Crimson amp, the thing sang like a fat lady.