Hi Turboglo, great story! This type of anecdote is the most common sent to me, though mostly fond memories of fathers' systems backed by an idler-wheel of course, and like you speaking of the musical POWER of those old systems (and the consequent failure to recapture that power). Like you, most heard the diminution, but trusting the press reports and industry advertising, they dismissed it as an explainable aberration (though the explanation was never forthcoming, the claim being NO sacrifice was made) and moved on (with that nagging little voice at the back of their minds that something was STILL missing). Hilarious and somewhat serious: "I feel like I should be able to sue somebody!"
I suspect many have been reading my claims and reports like these over the last few years and though it strikes a chord within them, they don't want to believe it, having invested too much money backing the wrong horse (a painful admission).
Now, though I'm certain everyone understands this, I do want to caution those watching from the outside that a restored/tweaked/replinthed record changer, though it will have that PRaT, SLAM, bass and musical POWER, will not match a properly redone and set-up Lenco, Garrard or other heavy and well-built idler-wheel drive. But it WILL teach a Great lesson, and will embarrass many highly-regarded belt-drives. More on the fun side, a record-changer, properly re-done, sounds great but more than that, it allows one to give the finger to hair-shirt audiophile existence, and watch the record player turn itself off, and even allows us to stack records and relax!! Now to some this is anathema, but it IS fun!! I don't believe records are SO easily damaged, that if they are clear of dust, the cushioning of air as it falls absorbs/kills the impact, and the absence of dust ensures nothing is ground in. Or one could simply be happy that the one record ends, and the player turns itself off, like a CD player.
So, if the Dual sounds like fun and offers the occasional holiday from audiophile obsessions (while satisfying the desire for MUSIC), then why not bid on it? Elacs are every bit as good, and cheaper to boot, but they are not the Dual you enjoyed so much years ago ;-).
I suspect many have been reading my claims and reports like these over the last few years and though it strikes a chord within them, they don't want to believe it, having invested too much money backing the wrong horse (a painful admission).
Now, though I'm certain everyone understands this, I do want to caution those watching from the outside that a restored/tweaked/replinthed record changer, though it will have that PRaT, SLAM, bass and musical POWER, will not match a properly redone and set-up Lenco, Garrard or other heavy and well-built idler-wheel drive. But it WILL teach a Great lesson, and will embarrass many highly-regarded belt-drives. More on the fun side, a record-changer, properly re-done, sounds great but more than that, it allows one to give the finger to hair-shirt audiophile existence, and watch the record player turn itself off, and even allows us to stack records and relax!! Now to some this is anathema, but it IS fun!! I don't believe records are SO easily damaged, that if they are clear of dust, the cushioning of air as it falls absorbs/kills the impact, and the absence of dust ensures nothing is ground in. Or one could simply be happy that the one record ends, and the player turns itself off, like a CD player.
So, if the Dual sounds like fun and offers the occasional holiday from audiophile obsessions (while satisfying the desire for MUSIC), then why not bid on it? Elacs are every bit as good, and cheaper to boot, but they are not the Dual you enjoyed so much years ago ;-).