Dual 720 questions

[dminnery]

Sorry is a 721.
I just picked this up, and it looks to be in very good shape.
It has a Pickering xv15 1200e cartridge.
My collection of albums is mostly older, and mostly second hand. Some pristine others have some wear and tear.

1. How can I tell if the stylus needs to be replaced?
2. Should I replace the stylus or the cartridge as well?

Any other insights on how I should clean or check this to ensure more years of use would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[62vauxhall]

That Pickering XV-15 1200E is a good cartridge. Maybe a great cartridge Duplicating the .2 X .7 nude stylus won't be cheap if it is even possible. Likely that a .3 X .7 is the best you can do. Might be nude or might be bonded, depends on vendor and price.

There are nude "Black Diamond" styli by Analogis that are good bang for the buck. Look at the DaCapo and Mr Stylus websites. Both are European vendors and both have styli from other sources. I bought a Black Diamond for a Shure from Mr Stylus and was happy with the item, price and even shipping time to Canada.

You may want to email either or both for details on what you are looking for and also stylus tip dimensions.


Image courtesy of hifi-wiki.com.

 

[Outsider373]

The Dual 721 is a great turntable, many people consider it one of the best Duals.
The original cartridge provided from factory usually was the Shure V15 Type III LM or DU, but the 721 is very versatile and you can use many medium to high compliance cartridges. If you have or will have more cartridges to use, try to get some extra TK-24 headshells so you can swap cartridges easily.