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Dual 1209 repair cost

L

Legion

New Member
So I picked up a Dual 1209 the other day and took it in to a local place to get looked at and see what needs to be done. They came back with an estimate of $235. My impression of it was that it needed a new stylus, maybe a cartridge and a clean up. But they're trying to tell me it needs a new idler wheel, something on the tonearm needs fixing, the tone arm stand needs to be replaced. All those things seemed fine before.

I feel like I could get something as good or better for $235. But I don't know what to do with it now? Trash? Target practice?
 
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There are several Dual experts on AK. I am not one of them :) But I do have a 1209, that works very nicely. I love its full mechanical nature. What problems are you having with it?
 
some website has a flat rate of 100 or just a bit over.

Fix my dual.com or something inane like that.

I would charge 100 plus parts, which is to say the idler may or may not need replacing.
 
I'd say half the fun of owning these old decks is working on them/tweaking them yourself. If you are not up to it I would look at investing that $235 + whatever you could sell the dual for into a turnkey TT.
 
Don't even think of paying $235 to repair that TT. Sell it as is and move on if you can't fix it yourself with help from this board.
 
DCinDC said:
some website has a flat rate of 100 or just a bit over.

Fix my dual.com or something inane like that.

I would charge 100 plus parts, which is to say the idler may or may not need replacing.
Click to expand...

FixMyDual.com is owned by a very well respected AKer who, in addition to fixing Dual turntables for a living, gives free advice to many folks here in our humble community. His standard rebuild is $135.00.

If the idler wheel needs to be replaced, it ain't gonna be cheap.
 
No offense intended, I've heard they do good work. I was surprised the OP hadn't found it straight away.

Idlers do go bad, but most I find are still good.

OP: some lube'in and love'in and that table will work just fine. If you don't want to do the work, as said, pass it on down the line and buy a tt that works now.
 
Well, I didn't have a chance to play a record on it, I did see that it started up fine and the tone arm cued up fine and returned to the stand ok. I'm not sure what an idler wheel does, but the platter was spinning and responded to changes in the speed selector. At any rate I was at a retro gaming store today and picked up a JVC L-A55 which is fully functional, tested and ready to go. It cost me $75, which seemed reasonable.

As for the 1209, I may keep it around and tinker with it, or sell it if I can actually get any money for it. Otherwise it could make for good target practice down at the range.
 
I'm no expert, but I've 'resurfaced' a Dual idler wheel before using a very fine emery board. Assuming it's still round, the biggest issue is that the rubber gets glazed and doesn't grip the platter rim very well.

If you're still considering having the Dual serviced, www.dual-reference.com is a good resource. That's where I found a local Dual tech.
 
Legion said:
Well, I didn't have a chance to play a record on it, I did see that it started up fine and the tone arm cued up fine and returned to the stand ok. I'm not sure what an idler wheel does, but the platter was spinning and responded to changes in the speed selector. At any rate I was at a retro gaming store today and picked up a JVC L-A55 which is fully functional, tested and ready to go. It cost me $75, which seemed reasonable.

As for the 1209, I may keep it around and tinker with it, or sell it if I can actually get any money for it. Otherwise it could make for good target practice down at the range.
Click to expand...
I hope that's a joke.
 
Remember, these guys are pros and will do what it takes to get the job done right. Duals are pretty complicated with a lot of mechanical linkages and common issues with dried up grease and the legendary Steuerpimple. And bench time isn't cheap either.

I'm not surprised at the $235 figure at all, but if you are handy, there's plenty of info on line where you can address some of these issues your self.

BTW, don't forget you have to add shipping both ways, so that will probably be another $60 total, plus the joy of packing a turntable for safe transit, which is a bit of an art in itself. :yes:
 
No shipping involved, this guy is the only official dual tech in Canada, he's actually about a 10 minute drive away.
 
With careful preparation you should be able to do all the needed work yourself. The idler wheel is what drives the platter...it transfers the rotation from the TT motor to the platter. Simple. They DO get hard or glazed with age...but there's workarounds for that. Clean out the old grease...add new...a dab of fine oil here & there and she'll be singin'. And...just like a recap on an unfamiliar amp...take plenty of detailed pictures as you disassemble. They'll be invaluable in getting things back together.
 
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