Personally I've never been a big Dual fan. I crank through quite a number of these helping out at a local charity thrift shop. It is nice to know that that the majority of auto-return issues can be cured with a new steuerpimple (and 99.9% of them I encounter seem to have that issue .... or are close to having it). However, I don't consider the proprietary 'sled' design to be all that great an idea ... I don't find they age well (with contact corrosion and I've had a few sleds with broken components). Replacements or extras for cartridge swapping are getting pricey (although I see that various replacements are coming available with the wonder of 3d-printing). The typical lock mechanism for the Dual I don't find to be a terribly secure way to mount a cartridge either. I've gone through the 'double-speed' issue with SM840 motors in (my case) a Dual 502 and found a replacement SM860, only to have the bearing on the tonearm fall apart (another common issue with that model). And the variety of oils and greases needed to properly service (and how finicky the turntables are to using the exact correct grease) is a bit of a pain. Just my opinion, but I'd take a Technics, Pioneer, Yamaha, JVC, Akai, etc. over a Dual .... especially if you're trying to keep it under $130 CAD.