Check out my new Dual 1019 w/ M75E-D19

bobins08

Celebrating Life
No, I do not need another turntable but this one satisfies two things for me.

1 - I have always wanted to try an idler (hearing so much about the sound and dynamics) and,
2 - I am restoring a vintage Fisher Custom Electra V Console and the 1019 would be a much better changer than the existing Garrard changer that is in there now.

Having read a lot of good things about the 1019 I decided to acquire this one in a straight up trade for an auto return, belt drive, Pioneer PL-514 that I had restored but was not going to ever use (I have a marcmorin AR XB and a Thorens TD 160 and both are more capable belt drives). The Dual came with an Shure M75E-D19 type 2 cartridge. It has a real Shure stylus on it, with the markings "RS E"

The 1019 was in "working condition" except for the auto return function which does not engage until the arm is past the dead wax. I think I found the right information to attempt to adjust this.

The table is very clean, the Seller claimed to have bought it from a retired veteran and that there was still plastic covering on the metal parts of the platter. The base is big and heavy, looks like walnut sides with plywood top.

The sound is wonderful. From the very first listen I could detect a difference in pace and dynamics. The motor is quiet, the idler is smooth, I hear no rumble. My reference for a quiet turntable is my marcmorin XB and this Dual is not at that level. When the music is playing it is fine, in between songs the blackness of my XB is not there on the Dual. I am not expecting it to be either.

The Shure cartridge is pretty darn awesome. This is the first REAL Shure stylus I have heard in over 30 years. I am not counting the N97 and the N35 stylus since they are Mexican versions of Shure. I have made comparisons with the Dual/M75 combo versus my XB using the Shure M97xE w/ an LPGear Vivid line stylus and the Dual/M75 is better to my ears. Listening to a real Shure stylus is a treat. The M75E-D19 comes with a ] spring suspension system within the cartridge carrier sled. I appears to work flawlessly on my table. This cartridge is not the last word in detail, and it lacks the liquid-like clarity and details produced by my Grado MCZ or by my Denon 301 when installed on my XB but man is it FUN!!!

Here are some pictures after clean up.

IMG_4883.JPG IMG_4885.JPG IMG_4892.JPG IMG_4900.JPG IMG_4901.JPG IMG_4902.JPG IMG_4903.JPG IMG_4904.JPG
 
Nice! I think you will enjoy it.

That's a rather large plinth but it's good looking and well made.
 
Nice! I think you will enjoy it.

That's a rather large plinth but it's good looking and well made.

Thanks. The Plinth is quite large and there is plenty to room to add mass by gluing in layers of plywood or MDF to the inner walls, or to the top board, or both.

If anyone has an effective way to do this please let me know. Also the best material to use, MDF, woodworker grade plywood, etc. ?

thanks, Bob
 
Sweet setup. Never seen a base like yours! Nice looking. I get a lot of pleasure from my Duals, enjoy!
 
1019.jpg Great looking Plinth for it. Keep an eye open for the bread box style cover like the one I have on mine. Looks fantastic and would sit nice on that.
 
View attachment 876653 Great looking Plinth for it. Keep an eye open for the bread box style cover like the one I have on mine. Looks fantastic and would sit nice on that.

It came with a cracked bread box dust cover, the right side of it is toast.

What kind of mat is that? Are you using mat thickness to optimize VTA for single play?
 
Sweet setup. Never seen a base like yours! Nice looking. I get a lot of pleasure from my Duals, enjoy!

Pleasure is a good word for it. There is something about it that I like a lot. I just played a few older records, recorded by RCA "Living Stereo" and they seem to be alive when played on the 1019. Maybe the M75E with a real Shure Stylus is part of it?

I read somewhere that idlers color the sound? Doesn't every component do that to some extent? Speakers seem to have "a sound", tube amps with tube swapping, etc.
 
I don't think idlers color the sound (more so necessarily than something else), but the good ones at least have heavy platters and quite a bit of torque spinning them. Compared to most belt drives this can be heard in the bass especially. I prefer the Duals without the springs in a heavy plinth, to my ears with the spring suspension the bass sounded a bit overly lively and bloomy. In a heavy plinth the bass cleans up nicely for a very focused delivery. Without the springs you need to mind what kind of feet you use, but that depends a lot on where you have the table, what kid of floor you have etc. etc.

Everything in a playback chain colors the sound, with vinyl perhaps even more so, this myth of an uncolored system component is just that, a myth :) You just need to hunt for the ones that color it less, or find the color palette you enjoy. Or a bit of both. The 1019 is quite a dense piece, picking the chassis up for the first time the weight surprised me for such a tiny thing :)
 
Very nice Dual you have there - I owned a 1014 last year that I really liked but decided to sell due to having too many other 'needful things'. I currently have a Dual 1224 which is in a Grundig Studio 1550 stereo receiver console and it sounds great. I just had to remove the tension spring from the idler arm because the tension wasn't enough to keep the idler in contact with the motor / platter. I couldn't find a suitable replacement spring, so I wrapped a rubber band around the arm instead and it works great :)
 
Good looking table Bob.......picture #3 is why I do AR's ;)......I leave all that gizmo stuff to my buddy in NYC
 
Good looking table Bob.......picture #3 is why I do AR's ;)......I leave all that gizmo stuff to my buddy in NYC

So Marc your a Mechanical Engineer that likes as little mechanisms as possible? :)

Having fun playing the two tables side by side.

I have to correct my first post. In my XB/ M97xE/ vivid line versus Dual/ M75E-D19 comparison I think I forgot to put the brush down.

In repeat testing the two are closer, the tameness if the M97eX comes out, it's smoother overall and the VL stylus provides much better details than the stock n97. The M75 has the big bolder vintage Shure sound. The driving dynamics of the idler compliments the cartridge. Hearing a real Shure stylus is a treat.
 
That's a nice one! I've never seen that plinth. I think the 1019 is my favorite Dual. Just today I took in a super clean one owner 1019 to refurbish.

Enjoy!
 
So Marc your a Mechanical Engineer that likes as little mechanisms as possible? :)

Yep...............Simple

Regarding the old Shure sound.........it's got the "rock and roll" down pat. May not be flat frequency, may not have that high end air.......but it sure do have the rock and roll. :rockon:
 
That mechanism in the 1019 is actually fairly straight forward and well designed (&built) ... for real pain, try a Perpetuum Ebner...
 
Thought I would include a picture of the cartridge and its unique spring suspension. This thing seems to work fine and the tracking is excellent.

I have playing single records on the stock platter but I read that the third record in a stack is the point where the VTA is optimal. So I added a cork platter mat, one for a 12' platter, onto of the existing platter to change the VTA and to set the tone arm parallel to the record. I observed this cartridge spring suspension adjust in each case.

I like the sound better with the cork platter mat installed so it seems to reason that I should shim the cartridge or keep the extra mat in place.

IMG_4891.JPG
 
Thought I would include a picture of the cartridge and its unique spring suspension. This thing seems to work fine and the tracking is excellent.

I have playing single records on the stock platter but I read that the third record in a stack is the point where the VTA is optimal. So I added a cork platter mat, one for a 12' platter, onto of the existing platter to change the VTA and to set the tone arm parallel to the record. I observed this cartridge spring suspension adjust in each case.

I like the sound better with the cork platter mat installed so it seems to reason that I should shim the cartridge or keep the extra mat in place.

View attachment 877121

now all you need is to have a "real N75ED T2" stylus in that :thumbsup:.........wanna borrow it for a bit?
 
now all you need is to have a "real N75ED T2" stylus in that :thumbsup:.........wanna borrow it for a bit?

It has a "real Shure RS E" which is a nice quality radio shack version elliptical for the M75. It sings nicely but does not reach the total performance level of the more exotic stylus shapes that I have.

I appreciate the offer to lend it to me, I fear that if it got lost or broken I could not replace it so I will pass on the generous offer. Besides, last night I found another genuine Shure NOS stylus. Once I actually get it I will report on it.

Cheers, Bob
 
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