I now have a grand total of 3 records and will shortly be buying a turntable. I know zero about turntables. I have been browsing/ researching, but I recall many years ago that Duals seemed to be highly thought of, however one never sees them in ‘top 10’ reviews these days. I am drawn to Duals because of the retro looks more than anything, but would also consider a Technics or Audio Technica. I don’t really like the aesthetics of Rega/ Pro-Ject.
I wonder if anyone could give any advice on which Duals to look at? Budget is around £600 plus cartridge if necessary. I also have no idea if a built-in phono stage or ability to add an external one is important?
The rest of the system is in a state of Naim/ tube amp flux at the moment, so I am not sure how it will all end up!
That would depend on whether you have a phono amp already, possibly built-in to your main pre-amplifier. If not, you’ll need one.
The Dual CS-418 & CS-518 comes with both a cartridge and inbuilt phono stage and should fit your budget.
If you prefer automatic the dual CS-329 would still leave you budget for a phono pre-amp. I would look at the Cambridge Audio ones.
I haven’t heard any of those, so my recommendation would be a Technics as you suggest that’s an option, but I don’t think there’s any within your budget.
I wasn’t aware the Dual brand was still going - I think they were great value in the 80s/90s but haven’t really kept up.
I bought a couple of second-hand Dual CS-505s decades ago and they were great - hopefully current Dual turntables still offer good performance price wise.
Good luck with the decision, were I looking for a turntable I’d definitely be considering Rega/Pro-ject as well as Audio Technica and Technics, maybe Sony too.
I like classic dual turntables they can sound rather good. I currently have a CS505-2.
The new ones I am less familiar with but I have heard an auto model (CS429 may be?) which sounded pretty good. The range goes from around £400-1200 or thereabouts.
This is a competitive price range and as you identified brings several Rega models into play. In my view, a Rega 3 is a good buy but you have said you don’t like the styling. A Rega 3 is about £650 on its own plus £150-250 for a ND3 or ND5.
There are several brands within your budget, several Audio Technica models and a more stylistically distinct TT is the Elipsom Chroma 400.
Listen to as many as you can and try and choose with your ears as well as the eyes.