Dual service in Boston area?

[jed69]

Hi all,

I hope everyone is well. I am very new to the forum but have very much enjoyed reading all the posts on vintage turntables; so much so that I recently acquired a Dual 510 for $100 and am interested in getting it looked over if possible (it runs and the seller told me that it was playing fine for him, but I haven't played anything on it yet). I think the spindle might be a trifle bent as the platter seems to undulate while playing; several of the bolts to hold it to the plinth are pretty bent, but I can take care of those. The pitch control seems to be working and everything else seems to be in order, although the plinth is in fair to bad shape, so I'm going to build one out of butcher block for now, and then may change it later, as I have been reading a lot of the posts here about materials. Does anyone know of anyone in the Boston area who can service it for me, adjust the tonearm, etc.? Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

John

[mrow2]

Undulating platter may have been dropped at one time, changes the shape of the casting a small amount depending on how it is struck. Still, might not hear it in the sound. Plinth, presume you mean the wood base? Yes you can build one. But not the deck the turntable sits on, that is an integral part of the unit.

[jed69]

Thanks! Yes, I meant the wood base. I'll take another look at the platter; on first inspection, it seemed as if the spindle were a little bent, but if that's the case, I may be able to either get it back into shape or get a new one.

[gg383]

510 platters do not lock down so it is a possibility that someone just turned it upside down and either the platter or spindle was damaged as a result of it hitting the floor or a foot!! Don't attempt this over a glass topped table!! Seriously tho, some of the cheaper belt drive tables like the 505-1 or the pricier idler 1229 Q have clips or other lock down devices. I just received a 510 from an ebay seller this week that wasn't properly packed and the platter popped out of the spindle carrier in transit and broke the yellow L shaped support on the top of the deck. 50 cents more bubble wrap between the player and dust cover would have fixed the problem. Now I need a $20.00 part!! I found it tho at South Street Services Co. in New York. I also noticed that they have replacement transit screws new, kinda pricey tho $8.95 + $3.95 shipping. I emailed them the other day and they said they do combine on shipping. Might want to try them if you can't bend yours back into shape. Go to ebay Dual parts and you will find the transit screws.

[dualref]

Some Dual turntables just have their platters sitting on top of the unit, some have "C" clips which hold the platter down and yet others have a "bayonett" type of system to hold the platter down.
In all cases when shipping a Dual turntable the platter should be removed and placed in a safe location maybe under the turntable. I have seen too many platters come loose during shipping and actually destroy the rest of the unit.

[jed69]

Thanks for the responses all! I was exploring getting a new base and wound up speaking to Bill Neumann, and to make a long story short, I wound up trading in the 510 toward a 1019, which is now in my home and part of my (modest) system (a Marantz 2226B and Cambridge Soundworks Model Six speakers). I just got it yesterday so am still fine tuning the arm, etc., but needless to say I am extremely happy with it; Bill is a great guy and great to work with, and he sure knows his Duals! I'll post more once I really get a chance to test it out.