Reminiscing about Dual and AR turntables

Erik, I am not sure what you mean by “better and easier to buy”.  The vintage Thorens turntables that receive a lot of attention are the TD 124 and the TD 125. There are later models that are also admired by some and used by many. I think all of those turntables are inherently far superior to the AR and generally the Dual turntables as well. The Thorens  turntables may be more plentiful on the used market because more of them were purchased to begin With. Therefore I guess you could say they are “easier to buy”. I am not a big fan of the TD 124 myself, but that’s just my opinion.

@lewm 

By "easier to buy" i really meant easier to own. I can buy them and leave them alone instead of buying and modding or fiddling with them. :) 

Best,

E

I had an AR turntable back in 1984. The table itself wasn't bad and was fairly attractive looking. But that stock tonearm.... What a piece of Taiwan junk. Poor tracking,  you could see the arm sway back and forth as it played. It had a resonance that came from the motor that was audible during quiet music passages. The head shell developed connection problems if you removed it to much. The dealer "begged" me to buy the table without the stock arm as he was well aware of these short comings. He said a Premier MMT tonearm would be a much better choice with that table if I could spring for another $100 or so. But back then, my funds were limited and went completely stock to save some coins. Big mistake. I later listened to a friends AR table with the Premier MMT tonearm and it sounded absolutely wonderful.