In the “golden age” of vinyl, most turntables were equipped with automatic controls: the tonearm itself extended to the introductory track, lowered the head to the surface of the disc, and at the end of it rose and returned to its original position. Fully automatic turntables were also produced, capable of playing several records one after another, however, only on one side – it was necessary to turn them over to the other manually. This is the turntable depicted on the cover of the Rolling Stones album “Let it Bleed”.
In our time, the complete absence of any automatic controls has become the standard: all operations with the tonearm have to be performed manually – like with DJ turntables, with which the vinyl renaissance began. Turntables with at least automatic tonearm lifting and motor shutdown after playback is complete are quite rare these days, and the new model of the German brand Dual CS-526 is one of them.
The Dual CS 526 turntable has received quite serious equipment. It is equipped with a belt drive and a special flat belt from a DC motor with electronic speed control. This drive system, as well as the chassis and disc bearing, were inherited from the older model of the brand – Dual CS 550. The uniformity of rotation of the aluminum disc with a felt antistatic mat in the player reaches an accuracy of 0.06%. Two speeds can be selected: 33 1/3 and 45 rpm.
The anti-vibration chassis of the CS 526 model is made of wood, the disc bearing cup is brass, with a Teflon support for the disc shaft. The gimbal-type tonearm with a spring clamp is also inherited from the older model – Dual CS 505-4. The tonearm is equipped with an anti-skating system and clamping force adjustment.
The new model is semi-automatic and features a function previously known as “autostop”. Once the record has finished playing, the tonearm rises smoothly (the Dual CS 526 has a microlift with viscous damping) and the disc stops. The Dual CS 526 is equipped with an MM cartridge with an Ortofon OM 10 diamond needle and is ready to work “out of the box”. An external preamplifier-corrector can be connected via a pair of RCA connectors with a dedicated ground connector.
Dual CS-526 Specifications
Tonearm technology: Cardan-type tonearm with spring clamp, anti-skating, clamping force adjustment, microlift with viscous damping.
Chassis technology: Wooden anti-vibration chassis, anti-vibration aluminum platter, anti-static felt mat.
The bearing cup is made of brass and has a Teflon disc shaft support.
Drive technology: Belt drive with a special flat belt.
DC motor with electronic speed control.
Rotational uniformity of 0.06%.
Special reinforced 7 mm axis.
The turntable is equipped with an MM cartridge with an Ortofon OM 10 diamond stylus.
Speed: 33/45
Rotational uniformity: 0.06%
Pickup: Orotofon OM 10
Outputs: 1 x RCA, 1 x Ground connector
Dimensions: 440 x 112 x 370 mm
Weight: 6.7 kg
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